Abstract

Children are the hope of their parents and simultaneously important assets for future development of any nation. Children with disability may have special needs particularly regarding health and education. Taking care of these disabled children may enhance the stress level of the primary care giver. Material and methods: The present case control study was conducted in rural field practice areas of Department of Community Medicine, GMC Amritsar among disabled and normal children aged between 6-15 years along with their primary care givers. A house to house survey of villages under Majitha block was conducted. A total 300 children and their primary care givers were included (100 disabled children and 200 controls). A one to one interviews, information regarding socio-demographic profile; personal details of child and their primary care giver were recorded on a structured proforma. Results: Prevalence of childhood disability among 6-15 years age group came out to be 0.92%. According to parental stress scale, 71% of primary care givers of cases had high parental stress. Primary care givers of cases who studied up to primary or more had less stress as compared to those who were illiterate. Higher parental stress was observed among primary care givers of cases with 61-100% disability than those with 0-60% disability. Conclusion: Parenting of disabled child can have profound effects on the parents and family. Presently heath providers are focusing only on the wellbeing of children with disability; their caregivers are ignored to a large extent.

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