Caring by default: experiences of caregivers of children with developmental disabilities in Ghana mirrored in the context of the stress process model

TL;DR

This study explores the stress and challenges faced by caregivers of children with developmental disabilities in Ghana, highlighting the need for support programs.

Contribution

The study provides insights into the unique stressors and coping strategies of caregivers in a low-resource setting like Ghana.

Findings

Caregivers face stressors including economic burden and unmet educational needs.

Negative health outcomes include declines in physical, mental, and social well-being.

Coping strategies vary from maladaptive to adaptive, such as religious coping and family support.

Abstract

Caring for a child with developmental disabilities (DD) is associated with significant stress and burden. Caregivers’ experiences are influenced by factors such as poverty, stigma, and the lack of accessibility to services, equipment, and assistive devices. These factors are prevalent in a low-resource setting like Ghana which ultimately influences the experiences of caregivers. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of caregivers of children with DD in the context of the Stress Process Model.

The study employed a descriptive phenomenological design Caregivers of children with DD attending the Neurodevelopmental Clinic of a Teaching Hospital were purposively sampled. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, reaching saturation with 14 participants. The interviews were audio-recorded transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis.

Four main themes emerged: perception of caregiving, stressors faced by caregivers, negative health outcomes and coping strategies. Perception of caregiving had two sub-themes as stressful nature of caregiving and time-consuming. Six sub-themes were linked to stressors faced by caregivers: the child’s ADL needs, communication barrier, managing challenging behaviour, child’s health needs, unmet educational needs, and economic burden. Negative health outcomes had three sub-themes: decline in physical, mental and social well-being. While some caregivers used maladaptive coping strategies like blaming, others employed adaptive coping strategies like religious coping through prayer, self-encouragement and support from other family members.

The study highlights the complex interaction between caregivers’ perception of their caregiving situation, the stressors they experience, their coping resources,  and the negative health outcomes associated with caregiving. These findings underscore the need for context-specific caregiver programmes to mitigate the negative impacts of caregiving.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-024-02142-1.

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