1. Mental health of caregivers of children with medical complexity: group-based trajectory modelling.
- Author
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Nathwani AA, Fayed N, Grandi SM, Orkin J, and Cohen E
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Female, Child, Child, Preschool, Adolescent, Adult, Disabled Children psychology, Prospective Studies, Middle Aged, Caregivers psychology, Mental Health
- Abstract
Objective: To describe the mental health trajectories of caregivers of children with medical complexity (CMC) and explore child characteristics associated with below-average caregiver mental health., Design: A secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from 123 caregivers of children aged <16 years with medical complexity from a multicentre randomised trial conducted from December 2016 to June 2021., Main Outcome Measure: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global Mental Health Scale was used to measure caregivers' self-reported mental health well-being. Group-based trajectory analysis was used to identify clusters of caregivers with similar changes in mental health across 24 months. Logistic regression was used to identify child-related predictors of mental health among caregivers., Results: A final model with three distinct groups was selected, corresponding to caregivers with average (n=39), moderately below-average (n=65) and severely below-average (n=19) mental health scores, all with stable trajectories and high posterior probabilities (>90%). Moderately and severely below-average caregiver mental health groups, merged into one group, were associated with a greater number of child medical technology devices (adjusted OR (aOR) 1.44, 95% CI 1.01 to 2.04), gross motor difficulties (aOR 3.51, 95% CI 1.02 to 12.05) and worse child emotional (aOR 0.93, 95% CI 0.87 to 0.99) and psychological well-being (aOR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88 to 0.99)., Conclusion: Most caregivers of CMC reported persistently below-average mental health. The intensity of caregiving, as indicated by medical technology and child functional needs, is a potential risk factor for below-average caregiver mental health. Future design and evaluation of interventions focused on support for caregivers of CMC are warranted., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)
- Published
- 2024
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