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Psychosocial burden and quality of life of parents with children with univentricular hearts compared to ASD parents and parents of heart-healthy children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2024

Monia Schonath*
Affiliation:
Division of Pediatric Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
Leonie Arnold
Affiliation:
Division of Pediatric Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
Nikolaus A. Haas
Affiliation:
Division of Pediatric Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
Marcus Fischer
Affiliation:
Division of Pediatric Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
*
Corresponding author: Monia Schonath; Email: monia.schonath@med.uni-muenchen.de
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Abstract

Background:

Patients with univentricular hearts can only be palliated by a staged surgical procedure that carries a high morbidity and mortality risk. The aim of this study was to examine the emotional demands, psychosocial burden, and quality of life of parents with children with univentricular hearts compared to parents of children with a simple heart defect, those with no heart defect and children with chronic diseases.

Methods:

An anonymous questionnaire was created to interview parents about their quality of life, stressors, needs, strategies for coping with illness, and partnership satisfaction.

Results:

73 families participated in the study. Parents of children with univentricular hearts experience a significantly higher psychosocial burden, limitations in daily life, and distress in family interactions, as well as greater emotional distress compared to the other study groups. When comparing the families of children with other chronic diseases (e.g. cystic fibrosis, chronic arthritis and diabetes), these differences remained significant.

Conclusion:

The study confirms a higher psychosocial burden, restrictions in daily life and a lower quality of life of parents with children with univentricular hearts, compared to parents of children with simple heart defects and parents of heart-healthy children or those with other chronic diseases. Since this condition persists until adolescence and adulthood, the families are exposed to special challenges and stresses throughout their lives. This has yet to be adequately addressed in the management of these families.

Information

Type
Original Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press
Figure 0

Table 1. Patients’ characteristics

Figure 1

Figure 1. Psychosocial stress in families with children with disabilities.

Figure 2

Table 2. Comparison of mean values of all subscales and study groups on the psychosocial stress of parents and the parental quality of life

Figure 3

Figure 2. Parental quality of life.