Abstract
The objective of this study was to reveal changes and characteristics of cumulative fatigue in mothers of disabled children who require medical care. We investigated attributes, child-rearing/environmental factors, cumulative fatigue symptoms index (CFSI) and free answer of subjects for about every 2 months using a questionnaire form. The subjects included 6 mothers of disabled children who require medical care. Their age was 37.50±6.51 years. Three of them had jobs, and the other three did not. The age of their children was 4.72±1.78 years. The medical care that they required included home oxygen therapy for 3 children, tube feeding for 1, gastrostomy for 5, aspiration for 6, and inhalation for 2. The mean rate of complaints in subjects according to each CSFI category exceeded that of general women for 7 categories. As for annual changes in cumulative fatigue, the mean value in many of them exceeded that of general women at any time, suggesting that the subjects had been feeling cumulative fatigue throughout the year. The free answer revealed that many of them had realized the changes in their own fatigue or stress according to their children’s health status. This suggests that it is important to provide them with supports from various aspects according to the individual situations and needs.
