Group intervention for burnout in parents of chronically ill children: a small-scale study
2016 (English)In: Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, ISSN 0283-9318, E-ISSN 1471-6712, Vol. 30, no 4, p. 678-686Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Background: Long-term stress leading to burnout symptoms is prevalent in parents of chronically ill children. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of a group intervention by measuring changes in self-rated clinical burnout and performance-based self-esteem. In addition, the parental perceptions of the acceptability of the intervention were explored.
Methods: Previously, we have explored the prevalence of clinical burnout in parents of patients 1–18 years with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the county of Örebro. All parents who exhibited clinical burnout symptoms in accordance with the Shirom–Melamed Burnout Questionnaire (SMBQ) were then invited to participate in a group intervention, which was evaluated in the present small-scale study. The group intervention consisted of eight sessions over a 12-week period, including education about behaviour, cognition and symptoms associated with burnout, intending to help the parents to develop adequate strategies for coping with and reducing stress. We evaluated the effect of the intervention in terms of self-rated clinical burnout and performance-based self-esteem (PBSE). In addition, the acceptability of the intervention was evaluated by analyses of recruitment and retention and self-reports from parents.
Results: Sixteen parents (13 of children with TIDM and three of children with IBD) out of 104 reporting clinical burnout participated in the intervention. All participants completed the intervention, and the mean attendance rate at all sessions was 90%. Parents’ subjective evaluations were mainly positive, and SMBQ (p = 0.01) and PBSE scale (p = 0.04) measurements were significantly reduced, which effects remained 6 months after completion of the intervention.
Conclusions: Despite the small-scale study, we consider that this intervention for parents with clinical burnout was appreciated and well accepted. The significant reduction in clinical burnout symptoms requires further evaluation in randomised controlled studies based on larger groups of parents.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Wiley-Blackwell, 2016. Vol. 30, no 4, p. 678-686
Keywords [en]
burnout, chronic illness, diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, intervention, parenting stress
National Category
Nursing
Research subject
Caring sciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-47759DOI: 10.1111/scs.12287ISI: 000389453000005PubMedID: 26395446Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84945262059OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-47759DiVA, id: diva2:897405
Note
Funding Agencies:
Research Committe of Örebro County Council OLL-180151
Örebro University
2016-01-252016-01-252018-07-09Bibliographically approved
In thesis