Patty Nathalie J S, van Meeteren Karen M, Verdonk Minke, Ketelaar Marjolijn, Schuengel Carlo, Willemen Agnes M
Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Section Clinical and Family Studies, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Amsterdam Institute of Public Health, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Child Care Health Dev. 2025 Jul;51(4):e70143. doi: 10.1111/cch.70143.
Parental burnout has been proposed as resulting from a persistent imbalance between stress-enhancing factors (demands/risk factors) and stress-alleviating factors (resources/protective factors). Parents of children with complex care needs (CCN) face this imbalance more often than parents in general. To address this, we need to know which factors are considered risky and protective for burnout from the perspectives of parents of children with CCN. To facilitate targeted interventions, this study sought to explore both risk and protective factors associated with burnout as perceived by parents of children with CCN.
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 38 parents, who recognized or identified themselves with burnout-related thoughts and feelings. Parents were selected for maximal variation, based on parental, child and family characteristics. The data was analysed through inductive thematic analysis.
Fifteen themes, divided into three categories, were identified: (1) 'the parent' encompassing factors intrinsic to the parent, such as emotional factors and internal drivers, and physical health; (2) 'the environment interacting with the parent' including organization of care, social support and socio-economic factors; and (3) 'the sum of all factors'-themes underscoring the collective impact of the context including the caregiving and parental responsibility, and the perception of no option but to endure. Most factors were identified as both risk and protective factors, underscoring the dynamic nature of burnout.
Participating parents ascribed burnout to unique combinations of risk and protective factors. Notably, these factors extended beyond the personal sphere to encompass societal structures that current conceptual models for dealing with burnout often ignore. From the perspective of parents, broad multisystem approaches to address parental burnout would likely appear most relevant.
父母倦怠被认为是由压力增强因素（需求/风险因素）和压力缓解因素（资源/保护因素）之间持续失衡所致。与一般父母相比，患有复杂护理需求（CCN）儿童的父母更常面临这种失衡。为解决这一问题，我们需要从患有CCN儿童的父母的角度了解哪些因素被认为是导致倦怠的风险因素和保护因素。为促进有针对性的干预措施，本研究旨在探索与患有CCN儿童的父母所感知的倦怠相关的风险和保护因素。
我们对38位父母进行了半结构化访谈，这些父母认可或认同与倦怠相关的想法和感受。根据父母、孩子和家庭特征，为实现最大程度的差异而选择了这些父母。通过归纳主题分析对数据进行了分析。
确定了15个主题，分为三类：（1）“父母自身”，包括父母内在的因素，如情感因素、内在驱动力和身体健康；（2）“与父母相互作用的环境”，包括护理组织、社会支持和社会经济因素；（3）“所有因素的总和”，这些主题强调了背景的集体影响，包括护理和父母责任，以及别无选择只能忍受的观念。大多数因素被确定为既是风险因素又是保护因素，突显了倦怠的动态性质。
参与研究的父母将倦怠归因于风险和保护因素的独特组合。值得注意的是，这些因素超出了个人范围，涵盖了当前应对倦怠的概念模型经常忽略的社会结构。从父母的角度来看，采用广泛的多系统方法来解决父母倦怠问题可能最为相关。
