THE EFFECTS OF A SELF-HELP GROUP PROGRAM ON QUALITY OF LIFE AMONG CAREGIVERS OF CHILDREN WITH PHYSICAL IMPAIRMENTS IN UDON THANI PROVINCE

Abstract

            This study employed a quasi-experimental one-group pretest-posttest design to explore the effects of a self-help group program on the life quality among caregivers of children with physical impairments. The participants included 30 primary caregivers of children with physical impairments from the Udon Thani Special Education Center, selected through purposive sampling. The research instruments comprised a 12-week self-help group program with four different types of support activities—sharing emotional and social support, providing information, offering education and skill development, and advocating for caregivers. Content validity, examined by three experts, yielded a content validity index of .67 – 1.00. The research instrument for collecting data from caregivers was the quality-of-life questionnaire of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Brief-Thai (WHOQOL-BREF-THAI). The reliability was .84. Data analysis involved percentage, mean, standard deviation, and paired t-test.

            The research results demonstrated that, compared to before the intervention, the mean scores for the quality of life of caregivers for children with physical impairments significantly improved at the .05 level. Therefore, nurses and healthcare teams should establish self-help groups for caregivers of children with physical impairments in the community. Furthermore, the program can be adapted for use with patients having different illnesses to enhance the patient’s quality of life and to promote the quality of life for caregivers in terms of physical, mental, social relations, and the environment.