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Children with sickle cell disease who are experiencing psychosocial problems concurrently with their mothers: a
1Department of Behavioural Sciences, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria. mosunmolaflorence@yahoo.com
Insights
Mothers and children with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) often experience concurrent psychosocial problems. Early identification and family-centered care are crucial for effective management and prevention of emotional and social dysfunction.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Hematology
- Family Medicine
Background:
- Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) significantly impacts children's psychosocial well-being.
- Maternal psychosocial health is often intertwined with the child's condition.
- A family-centered approach is increasingly recognized as vital in managing chronic childhood illnesses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify children with SCD experiencing psychosocial problems alongside their mothers.
- To compare these dyads and determine correlations and patterns of psychosocial dysfunction.
- To identify factors influencing or modifying concurrent psychosocial issues in pediatric SCD.
Main Methods:
- Utilized semi-structured questionnaires and standardized instruments (Child Behaviour Questionnaire - CBQ, Self Reporting Questionnaire - SRQ).
- Assessed psychosocial impact on children with SCD and their mothers.
- Included control groups of children with bronchial asthma and acute medical illnesses (AMI) and their mothers.
Main Results:
- A significant correlation was found between children with probable psychological problems (CBQ score ≥7) and mothers with probable psychosocial problems (SRQ score ≥5).
- Some group-specific factors influenced this concurrent pattern in certain disease groups.
- No single factor universally cut across all three disease groups studied.
Conclusions:
- Psychosocial management of physical illnesses requires a family-focused assessment, not just individual care.
- Identifying dysfunction in one family member should prompt assessment of others for primary prevention.
- Future research should urgently identify modifiable factors influencing concurrent child-mother psychosocial dysfunction in SCD.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to identify children with Sickle cell disease (SCD) who are experiencing psychosocial problems concurrently with their mothers; and comparing the dyads to determine correlation, pattern of correlation and to identify correlating or modifying factors.
Method:
The psychosocial impact of Sickle cell disease in affected children and their mothers was assessed using semi-structured questionnaire and standardized instruments (The Child Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ) - Parents' version or Scale A2) for the children and Self Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) for their mothers) Children with bronchial asthma and some with acute medical illnesses (AMI) and their mothers who were also assessed with the same instruments served as the control population.
Results:
There was significant correlation between children who were probable cases with psychological problems based on Child Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ score of ≥7) and corresponding mothers who were probable cases with psychosocial problems based on Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ score of ≥5).Although there were some group-specific factors that influenced this pattern (child and mother having psychosocial problems concurrently) in one or 2 groups of these diseases, none cut across the 3 groups.
Conclusion:
In psychosocial management of physical illnesses, assessment and care should include a focus on families rather than on the affected individual only. In addition, identifying emotional and social dysfunction in a family member should lead to a search in other members; in this way primary prevention or control can effectively be carried out. Finally, identifying more modifiable factors that positively influence this pattern in which child and mother experience psychosocial dysfunction concurrently should be the urgent task of future and larger studies in this environment.
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