Parents' resources and home management of the care of chronically ill infants

Abstract

Purpose: To identify resources of parents or primary caretakers who managed chronically ill infants at home and to determine psychometric properties of Home Care Resources Inventory (HCRI).

Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive

Setting: Outpatient clinics.

Participants: Parents or primary caretakers (N = 100) of chronically ill infants who were discharged from hospital at least one week; 93% of sample were mothers; infants' ages ranged from 1-22 months.

Main outcome measures: HCRI, the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory, and a demographic questionnaire.

Results: Parents reported strong resources in the area of support and inconsistent resources in areas of coping, time, and respite. The HCRI has acceptable psychometric properties.

Conclusions: Identifying resources, especially personal time and respite, is essential for successful home management of chronically ill infants. The HCRI can be used to pinpoint areas that are strong or weak in the two resource areas measured.