Maternal, paternal, and family health-related quality of life in the context of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Abstract

Although mothers and fathers report similar individual and family HRQoL, the strength of associations between disease and youth adjustment factors with these outcomes differs somewhat by parent gender. Findings underscore the importance of examining maternal and paternal functioning separately and incorporating routine family assessment into the course of treatment.

Medical staff tend to underestimate the quality of life in children and adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease

“…These results suggest that both physicians and parents were focusing on the patient's digestive symptoms and that they need to pay more attention to communicating with the patient when they are taking medication or undergoing colonoscopy. Kunz et al reported that the paternal proxy QoL was more highly related to disease activity than maternal reported outcomes, although the maternal proxy was more highly related to adjustment in their subjects. In our study, the greatest concordance was between the IMPACT‐III questionnaires completed by the fathers and patients.…”

Do Parents and Children Agree? Quality‐of‐Life Assessment of Children With Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Their Parents

“…Research has found that father-proxy HRQOL was more highly related to disease activity compared with mother-reported outcomes, although maternal-proxy was more highly related to child adjustment (37). Research has found that father-proxy HRQOL was more highly related to disease activity compared with mother-reported outcomes, although maternal-proxy was more highly related to child adjustment (37).…”

Gender‐specific differences in parental health‐related quality of life in childhood cancer

“…HRQoL has been previously studied in caregivers of children with different diseases, including pediatric oncology populations . In most studies, caregivers reported significant impairment in both mental and physical HRQoL domains.…”

“…15 HRQoL has been previously studied in caregivers of children with different diseases, including pediatric oncology populations. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] In most studies, caregivers reported significant impairment in both mental and physical HRQoL domains. Identified risk factors were (among others) female parent gender, preexistent parental illness, lack of social or emotional support, less effective coping strategies, and child characteristics such as worse functional status, higher care dependency, and more symptoms or increased disease activity.…”

“…Identified risk factors were (among others) female parent gender, preexistent parental illness, lack of social or emotional support, less effective coping strategies, and child characteristics such as worse functional status, higher care dependency, and more symptoms or increased disease activity. 17,18,24 In childhood oncology, additionally described risk factors are treatment intensity, shorter time since diagnosis, high parental distress and family burden, and lower socioeconomic status. [21][22][23]25,26 These determinants are predominantly based on responses provided by one parent, mostly mothers.…”