Mothers’ challenges and experiences of children with cerebral palsy: a qualitative meta-synthesis
Article Category: Review
Publié en ligne: 26 juin 2024
Pages: 169 - 179
Reçu: 05 avr. 2023
Accepté: 26 sept. 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/fon-2024-0018
Mots clés
© 2024 Meng-Yun Peng et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria applied to the literature search.
| Inclusion criteria | Exclusion criteria |
|---|---|
| Mothers were aged 18 years or above, Children with CP were aged between 0-18 years | |
| Qualitative studies focus on: | |
| Psychological, physical, social challenges faced by mothers of children with CP. | Other caregivers’ and health personnel’s experience of the mother role |
| Mothers’ experiences from first learning of the diagnosis to the whole caring process. | Review articles, official reports, book reviews, theoretical articles, dissertations, conference abstracts, and editorials |
| Mothers’ change and growth in the caring experience. |
Themes and subthemes.
| Themes | Subthemes |
|---|---|
| Negative emotions | Shock and denial |
| Burden and challenges | Physical challenges |
| Social support | Family support |
| Actively growing and expectation | Self-regulation |
Characteristics of included studies.
| Author/year | Location of study | Aim | Sample | Data methods | Core finding | Quality appraisal (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vadivelan et al. |
Tertiary Care Center, Tamil Nadu | To understand the physical, psychosocial, financial, and other stressors among caregivers of children with CP | 10 mothers of children with CP | Thematic content analysis, semi-structured interview | 5 main themes Individual stressors Interpersonal stressors Community stressors Environmental stressors Health system and policy stressors |
80 |
| Mokhtari and Abootora. |
Saba Private Rehabilitation Center, Lran | To investigate the experiences of Iranian mothers of children suffering from CP | 8 mothers of children with CP | Hermeneutic phenomenology, semi-structured interviews | 4 main themes Life world existential: Lived body Life world existential: Lived space Life world existential: Lived time Life world existential: Lived relationship |
60 |
| Marian et al. |
Hospital, Namibia | To reveal the experience of mothers of children born with CP | 12 mothers of children with CP | Phenomenological, explorative and contextual design, Indepth interviews | 4 main themes The emotional experiences of mothers Social Support Community acceptance |
60 |
| Mohamed Madi and Mandy. |
Medical City, Saudi Arabia | To explore the perceptions of disability among mothers of children with CP | 6 mothers of children with CP | Ethnographic, focus groups | 3 main themes Culture and religion Motherhood and disability Community stigma and discrimination |
60 |
| Kurtuncu et al. |
Rehabilitation Center, Turkey | To determine the difficulties experienced by mothers of children with CP and their needs | 15 mothers of children with CP | Phenomenological approach, semi-structured interviews | 9 main themes Difficult to accept diagnosis Family relationship Relationships between children Care difficulties Educational difficulties Worries About the future Expectations for the future Availability of social support Sexual life |
60 |
| Dalvand et al. |
Participants’ homes/clinics/school/community, Iran | To explore occupations of mothers of children with CP | 16 mothers of children with CP | Content analysis methodology, semi-structured interviews | 4 main themes Coping with self-care problems Efforts to gain treatment follow-up Coping challenges of educational care Limited parental personal leisure time |
60 |
| Dehghan et al. |
Clinics, Iran | To explore the experience of social participation of mothers of children with CP | 14 mothers of children with CP | Content analysis method, semi-structured interviews. | 3 main themes Polarization of positive and negative feelings Challenges to mothers’ social activity Striving to engage in society |
60 |
| Glasscock. |
Clinics, USA | To describe the lived experience of being the mother of a child with CP | 15 mothers of children with CP | Phenomenological methods, audiotaped interviews. | 4 main themes Caregiver burden Family/social support Women’s/mothers’ roles Socioeconomics |
70 |
| Huang et al. |
Hospital, Taiwan, China | To describe challenging caregiving experiences for mothers providing care for children with CP | 15 mothers of children with CP | Hermeneutic phenomenological approach, in-depth interviews and journaling methods | 4 main themes Experiencing burden as a sole primary caregiver Managing the challenges by balancing demands Being marginalized by others Encountering limited or no professional support |
80 |
| Singogo et al. |
Townships, Zambia. | To explore the challenges of mothers who cared for children with CP | 16 mothers of children with CP | Exploratory methodology, semi-structured individual interviews. | 5 main themes Physical challenges experienced by the mothers Social isolation Perceived causes of CP Physical access challenges Marital problems and challenges with the health care system |
70 |
| Milbrath et al. |
Care Institution, Brazil | To get to know the adaptation process experienced by a woman, motivated by the birth of a child with CP | 6 mothers of children with CP | Descriptive and exploratory methodology, semi-structured interview. | 2 main themes Experiencing being a woman-mother of a child with CP Supporting networks necessary to the woman-mother of a child with special needs |
50 |
| Power et al. |
Clinic, Irish | To study the effect of the child’s communication difficulties on the mother’s life | 3 mothers of children with CP | Grounded theory, semi-structured interview. | 5 main themes Hardships experienced by the mother Emotional investment in the child’s communication progress Laboring to get the child’s communication going Being consumed with the child’s communication Hardships experienced by the child |
60 |
| Huang et al. |
Hospital, Taiwan, China | To describe mothers’ experience of learning that their child has been diagnosed with CP | 15 mothers of children with CP | Phenomenological methodology, in-depth interviews and journaling methods. | 4 main themes Feeling out of control and powerless Mistrusting healthcare professionals Release and confirmation Feeling blamed for not following traditional practices |
80 |