Elbilgahy Amal Ahmed, Alemam Doaa Shokry, Hashem Sahar Farouk, Abozed Hend Wageh
Assistant Professor of Pediatric Nursing, Pediatric Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt.
Maternal & Child Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Northern Border University, Arar, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Pediatr. 2025 May 26;25(1):420. doi: 10.1186/s12887-025-05745-y.
Chronic illness in children significantly affects their quality of life and that of their families. They often encounter numerous challenges, with fatigue being one of the most common. Creating opportunities for parents to care for their children, participate in caregiver support groups, and engage in discussions with healthcare professionals can empower them.
To assess the impact of family-centered empowerment programs (FCEP) on reducing fatigue levels in children with chronic illnesses and their parents.
A quasi-experimental study utilizing a single group pre/post-test design was carried out involving 328 mother-child pairs at Mansoura University Children's Hospital. Pre-test and post-test measurements were utilized, employing the Pediatric Quality of Life Multidimensional Fatigue Scale for children and the Checklist Individual Strength for parents. The FCEP comprised three educational sessions focused on managing fatigue and enhancing family support was introduced.
Post-intervention, children's fatigue scores significantly improved from 6.59 to 33.64 (p ≤ 0.001). All fatigue subscales (general, sleep/rest, cognitive) demonstrated significant enhancements. Parental fatigue also showed a slight decrease, although it was less pronounced. Differences were observed in self-efficacy and coping strategies before and after the intervention, indicating a positive shift in these areas among families.
The findings suggest that implementing family-centered empowerment programs is associated with reduced fatigue severity in children with chronic illnesses and their parents. This highlights the potential benefits of family involvement in care processes. However, it may be beneficial for future studies to utilize a larger randomized design to further validate these results and enhance the generalizability of the findings.
儿童慢性病严重影响他们及其家庭的生活质量。他们常常面临诸多挑战，疲劳是最常见的挑战之一。为父母创造照顾孩子的机会、让他们参加照顾者支持小组并与医疗保健专业人员进行讨论，可以增强他们的能力。
评估以家庭为中心的赋权项目（FCEP）对降低慢性病患儿及其父母疲劳水平的影响。
在曼苏拉大学儿童医院对328对母婴进行了一项采用单组前后测设计的准实验研究。使用前测和后测测量方法，采用儿童生活质量多维疲劳量表评估儿童，采用个体力量检查表评估父母。引入了包括三次聚焦于管理疲劳和加强家庭支持的教育课程的FCEP。
干预后，儿童的疲劳得分从6.59显著提高到33.64（p≤0.001）。所有疲劳子量表（总体、睡眠/休息、认知）均有显著改善。父母的疲劳也略有下降，尽管不太明显。干预前后在自我效能感和应对策略方面存在差异，表明家庭在这些方面有积极转变。
研究结果表明，实施以家庭为中心的赋权项目与降低慢性病患儿及其父母的疲劳严重程度相关。这凸显了家庭参与护理过程的潜在益处。然而，未来的研究采用更大规模的随机设计可能有助于进一步验证这些结果并提高研究结果的普遍性。
