Modeling the social determinants of caregiver burden among families of children with developmental disabilities

Am J Intellect Dev Disabil. 2011 May;116(3):246-60. doi: 10.1352/1944-7558-116.3.246.

Abstract

This study described predictors of caregiver burden among parents of children with developmental disabilities. The sample, obtained from the 2005-2006 National Survey of Children With Special Health Care Needs, included 12,225 children, aged 5 to 17 years, with a developmental disability. Structural equation modeling assessed the relationships between the factors of Caregiver Burden, Ease of Accessing and Navigating the Health Care System, and Unmet Health Care Needs. Caregiver burden was inversely associated with ease of accessing and navigating the health care system (β = -0.094, SE (β) = 0.045) and positively associated with unmet health care needs (β = 0.428, SE (β) = 0.036). Parents of poor, minority, and uninsured children experienced significantly greater caregiver burden. Bolstering services, particularly for vulnerable families, may ameliorate caregiver burden.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Caregivers / psychology*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Consumer Behavior
  • Cost of Illness*
  • Delivery of Health Care
  • Developmental Disabilities / epidemiology
  • Developmental Disabilities / psychology*
  • Female
  • Health Services Accessibility
  • Health Services Needs and Demand
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Medically Uninsured
  • Minority Groups / psychology
  • Models, Psychological*
  • Poverty / psychology
  • United States