Psychological Distress and Coping Strategies of Caregivers of Children with Chronic Conditions in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Abstract

Using the family systems theory and the transactional model of stress and coping, the study assessed the coping strategies employed by caregivers of children with chronic conditions (Epilepsy and Sickle Cell Disease) and the psychological distress (Depression, Anxiety and Stress) they experienced in the course of caregiving. The descriptive survey research design was employed and a sample size of 156 caregivers was selected using quota sampling procedure. Questionnaire consisting of adapted DASS 21 was used to collect data on psychological distress whilst data on coping strategies were collected using the Brief Coping Inventory. Descriptive statistics were used in analyzing some research questions while inferential statistics were used to compare differences and relationships among variables using SPSS version 22.0. It was found among other things that more than half of the caregivers of children with SCD have severe to extreme levels of stress whilst only 25.6% of the caregivers of children with epilepsy were found to experience severe to extreme levels of stress. Active and religious coping were found to be the most used coping strategies by both categories of caregivers. There were differences in the levels of psychological distress experienced by caregivers of children with SCD based on their gender but no differences were found in caregivers of children with Epilepsy based on gender. Support systems such as psychotherapy, health education, social and financial support to ease the burden of caregiving on caregivers are recommended.