Tambu Jamison
Country: Ireland
Background: Occupational Therapy
Research Project: An Exploration of the QOL of Parent Carers of Children With Intellectual Disability in West Dublin, Ireland
Abstract.
Due to technological advancement the number of children with intellectual and other forms of disabilities in Ireland and globally are increasing. The number of children with Intellectual Disability (ID) and other disabilities in Ireland being cared for at home are also increasing due to the recent emphases on the caring of people with disabilities in their homes. As these numbers are increasing the numbers of those who care for them in the homes are also increasing.
For all parents caring for one’s child (ren) brings joy and achievement but also has challenges and stress. However parent carers of children with ID have been regarded as a unique group of caregivers as they face unique circumstances and challenges and these affect the Quality of life (QOL) of these parent carers. This studies was therefore done to explore the perceptions of parent carers of children with Intellectual Disability in relation to their Quality of Life. Purposive sampling was used to recruit participants and in - depth interviews were used to explore experiences and factors that affected the QOL of 6 parents of children with ID who participated in this study and that of their families.
The results of the study revealed that there were both negative and positive factors that affected the QOL of the participants involved in this study. The negative factors included stress, isolation, health problems, financial difficulties, lack of support from family, friends and relevant services providers. On the positive side all the participants in this study said they had gained from looking after their child with ID. Some parents learnt to love and give, others learnt to put others first and some have become more confident through the need to fight for the needs of their children.
Another notable finding was that even though these parents were experiencing some challenges they were still happy with their lives and that of their children despite the amount and complexity of the caring involved, what they needed was support from relations and relevant services providers to afford them breaks and to further enhance their QOL and that of the whole family.
Keywords: Parent carer, Quality of Life, intellectual disability, Irish, child, family, perception.
Word count: 16 000