Permalink : http://hdl.handle.net/2115/38329

JaLCDOI : 10.14943/36812

KEYWORDS : QOL;Mothers with sick children;QUIK-R scores;Support

Introduction: To maintain good QOL of mothers is important for their children's mental and physical development. However, it is sometimes difficult for mothers with sick children to maintain their own QOL, because of the difficult management of their children's daily lives. We, therefore, investigated the QOL of mothers having hospitalized and ambulatory children. Methods: 1. Subjects: Fifty-five mothers of from 0 to 6-year-old children: 42 with children hospitalized in a university hospital and 13 with ambulatory children. 2. Research period: From August to September 2003. 3. Research methods: We used the QUIK-R, a self-completed questionnaire for Quality of Life Revised by Iida and Kohashi, and questionnaires on factors which affect the QOL of mothers. Results: 1) The average scores of QUIK-R, the presence of sick children's siblings, and the age of mothers showed no significant differences between inpatient and outpatient groups. 2) The distribution of total scores for QUIK of both the inpatient and outpatient groups were "slightly poor" according to a six-tiered rating scale. 3) The QUIK-R scores of mothers showed no significant differences depending on the age of inpatient children, period of hospitalization, and ward for inpatients. 4) Mothers with sick children had poorer QUIK-R scores than those with healthy children. 5) It was found that, when children are hospitalized for a long time, mothers devise means of obtaining happiness and amusement although their physical fatigue is not eased. Conclusion: The QOL of mothers with sick children was apt to be poor compared to that of mothers with healthy children. Therefore, it is important for nurses to develop a system to support children's families and medical service workers to decrease physical, mental and social stresses of mothers in hospitals and at home.