Parenting Research Centre | Fatigue in Parents of Children with a Disability or Chronic Illness

Fatigue in Parents of Children with a Disability or Chronic Illness

To what extent do parents of children with a disability or chronic illness experience fatigue and what are the factors associated with their fatigue?

Parents caring for a child with a disability or chronic illness are at increased risk of experiencing a range of health and wellbeing difficulties. This project explores fatigue and wellbeing in parents of children with a disability or chronic illness. It also looks at a range of socio-demographic, parent, family and child factors associated with their fatigue.

The findings will inform the development of information resources to assist parents in the management of fatigue. Parents of children with a disability or chronic illness aged between two and 14 years were invited to complete a survey about their experiences of fatigue and wellbeing, sleep quality, coping and social support.

Preliminary results reveal that approximately 85 per cent of parents describe themselves as ‘tired’ or ‘extremely tired’ and their level of fatigue is higher than that reported by parents of typically developing children.

Results also show that parental fatigue is also associated with depression, anxiety and stress.

Poor levels of physical exercise, high need for social support, frequent attendance at medical appointments and use of self-blame coping strategies were found to be significant predictors of parent fatigue.