Article1 min read·Published Jan 2016Older

Health-Related Quality of Life and Parental Stress in Children With Fecal Incontinence: A Normative Comparison

Part of Fecal Incontinence & Bowel Management 4 items

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Michael Helmrath

Objective: The aim of the present study was to describe the quality of life and parenting stress associated with a child with fecal incontinence (FI). Methods: Female caregivers (n = 170) of children of 3 to 12 years age with FI completed a broad and general measure of quality of life and a measure of parenting stress. Results were compared with proxy reports for a normative sample of healthy children. Results: Caregivers of children with FI reported significantly impaired quality of life for their children and increased parenting stress in all of the respective domains relative to healthy controls. Impairments reported by caregivers were large in magnitude. Similarly, rates of parenting stress were at or greater than the 98th percentile for caregivers of children with FI. Conclusions: Children with fecal incontinence and their families are in need of interventions targeting their quality of life and the stress associated with caregiving. FI appears to be particularly stressful for caregivers who may be in need of support beyond medical management of their child's bowel. Moreover, additional refinements in disease-specific quality of life assessment are needed in this population. Such refinement would allow for more precise measurement of the quality of life processes that are unique to FI.

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Article · Jan 2016 · 1 min read

In brief

This study reveals that children with fecal incontinence experience significantly impaired quality of life, while their caregivers report parenting stress at or above the 98th percentile compared to families with healthy children. The findings highlight the critical need for interventions addressing both medical management and psychosocial support for affected families.

Written by the GCMD Library team from the article.

Michael Helmrath

Statements in this article

Caregivers of children with fecal incontinence reported significantly impaired quality of life for their children in all domains relative to healthy controls.
ResearchResults
Caregivers of children with fecal incontinence reported increased parenting stress in all domains relative to caregivers of healthy children.
ResearchResults
Quality of life impairments reported by caregivers of children with fecal incontinence were large in magnitude.
ResearchResults
Rates of parenting stress were at or greater than the 98th percentile for caregivers of children with fecal incontinence.
ResearchResults
Children with fecal incontinence and their families are in need of interventions targeting their quality of life and the stress associated with caregiving.
RecommendationConclusions
Caregivers of children with fecal incontinence may be in need of support beyond medical management of their child's bowel.
RecommendationConclusions
Additional refinements in disease-specific quality of life assessment are needed in the fecal incontinence population.
RecommendationConclusions