Quality of life of caregivers of children with glaucoma in an arab population: A cross-sectional study

Document Type

Article

Department

Surgery; Ophthalmology

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the quality of life (QoL) measures of caregivers of children with glaucoma using the Caregiver's Congenital Glaucoma Quality of Life (CarCGQoL) questionnaire.
Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study undertaken at King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. QoL of the caregivers, the main outcome, was assessed using the 20-item CarCGQoL questionnaire. Raw QoL scores of caregivers were converted to Rasch-calibrated interval level scores. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with caregivers' QoL.
Results: Eighty-five caregivers (46 fathers and 39 mothers) aged 42.5±7.5 years were included in the study. The mean QoL score of caregivers was 0.63 (±1.05). The presence of additional children with glaucoma in the household had the strongest negative relationship with caregivers' QoL [β=-0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI): -1.22, -0.27; P=0.003]. A poor QoL was noted with mother caregivers (β=-0.46, 95% CI: -0.87, -0.04; P=0.031) and those caring for blind children (vision <20/200 in the better eye) (β=-0.52, 95% CI: -0.98,-0.05; P=0.030) when compared with their reference groups. A 22.3% variance in the QoL score was explained by these three factors (adjusted R=0.223).
Conclusions: The QoL of caregivers of children with glaucoma was poor. Caregiver's relation to patients, additional children with glaucoma in the family and patient's vision in the better eye could influence a caregiver's QoL. Periodic evaluation of QoL of caregivers is recommended to plan counseling and other support services.

Publication (Name of Journal)

Journal of Glaucoma

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