The relationship of the perception of family-centered care, burden of care and self-efficacy in the mothers of children with chronic illness

Caring for children with chronic illness is associated with the care burden of families and affects their self-efficacy. In addition, family-centered care can have positive outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of the perception of family-centered care, burden of care and self-efficacy in the mothers of children with chronic illness.

Methods & Materials:

 This descriptive-analytical study was conducted in 2019 on 220 mothers of children with chronic illness, admitted to pediatric hospitals in Tehran and were selected using the convenience sampling method. Data were collected using the Perception of Family-Centered Care-Parent, Perceived Maternal Parenting Self-Efficacy, and the Impact-on-Family Scale. Data were analyzed by SPSS software version18 using descriptive and inferential statistics such as Pearson correlation and regression tests at the significance level of 0.05.

Results showed that perception of family-centered care is directly associated with self-efficacy and inversely associated with the burden of care (respectively P<0.001 and P=0.022), so that for each 1-unit increase in the score of perception of family-centered care, self-efficacy of mothers increased by 0.25 and the burden of care decreased by 0.23. No significant association was found between self-efficacy and the burden of care (P=0.962).

Given that family-centered care can lead to an increase in self-efficacy and a reduction in the burden of care, nurses can improve mothers’ self-efficacy and reduce their burden of care by improving family-centered care.