Article Title: Predictors of Caregiver’s Burden: Interplay of Physical and Emotional Health and Perceived Hope in Children with Thalassemia and Hemophilia
Author(s): Amina Muazzam and Sumble Javed
Institute(s): Lahore College for Women University, Lahore
Journal: Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 2013, Vol. 11, No.2, 36-42
Correspondence Address: Dr. Amina Muazzam Lahore College for Women University, Lahore Email: amina_muazzam@hotmail.com
Abstract
Physical and emotional health problems and hope in children with thalassemia and hemophilia are very important to study as they are linked with primary caregiver’s burden. The aim of the present study was twofold; 1) to investigate the physical and emotional health problems that can affect the hope in children with thalassemia and hemophilia. 2) to examine predictors of the caregiver’s burden. The sample was comprised of 100 children (50 children with thalassemia and 50 children with hemophilia) and 100 caregivers (i.e., one caregiver with each child, n=100). The sample was selected through purposive sampling technique. The participants between 8-16 years were taken from private and public blood transfusion cells of Lahore. Three tools besides demographic information sheet were used to collect data. The participant’s hope was screened by using Children’s Hope Scale (Snyder, 1997), the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (Jellinek & Murphy, 2003) and Zarit Burden Interview (Zarit, 1983). The results showed that male children had more physical and emotional health problems than female children. However, they were more hopeful than female children. Female caregivers experienced more burden than male caregivers. There was a negative relationship between physical and emotional health problems and hope of children. Furthermore, male gender, first birth order, physical and emotional health problems, hope of the children, young age and gender of the caregivers being female were the significant predictors of caregiver’s burden.
Keywords: hope, health, children, caregiver, thalassemia, hemophilia, caregiver’s burden.
