Children's Special Health Care Needs and Caregivers' Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Melisa Pasli; Dmitry Tumin

doi:10.3122/jabfm.2022.220406R2

Children's Special Health Care Needs and Caregivers' Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

J Am Board Fam Med. 2023 Oct 11;36(5):731-738. doi: 10.3122/jabfm.2022.220406R2. Epub 2023 Sep 29.

Authors

Melisa Pasli¹, Dmitry Tumin²

Affiliations

¹ From the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville NC (MP), Department of Pediatrics, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville NC (DT). paslim20@students.ecu.edu.
² From the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville NC (MP), Department of Pediatrics, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville NC (DT).

PMID: 37775326
DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2022.220406R2

Abstract

Background: Caregivers of children with special health care needs (SHCN) report worse self-rated health when compared with caregivers of children without SHCN and have experienced significant stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to determine whether COVID-19 pandemic-era declines in well-being among caregivers of children with SHCN were steeper than among caregivers of children without SHCN.

Methods: We used 2020 to 2021 (pandemic-era, n = 89,560) and 2018 to 2019 (pre-pandemic, n = 57,927) data from the National Survey of Children's Health. Caregiver-reported physical and mental health outcomes were analyzed using multivariable ordinal logistic regression.

Results: The pandemic era was associated with 26% higher odds of reporting worse mental health among caregivers of children with SHCN (95% confidence interval [CI]: +16%, +38%), and 20% higher odds of reporting worse mental health among caregivers of children without SHCN (95% CI: +15%, +26%). The magnitudes of these changes were not significantly different from one another (P = .341).

Conclusions: Although caregivers of children with SHCN faced significant burdens and increased stress during the pandemic, decline in self-rated mental health among this group was similar to the trend seen among caregivers of children without SHCN.

Keywords: COVID-19; Caregivers; Child; Community-Based Research; Epidemiology; Logistic Regression; Mental Health; Pandemics; Special Health Care Needs.