Exploring Factors That Impact Rural Mothers Caring for A Child With A Chronic Health Condition

Abstract

<p>Globally, there is a growing incidence of children with chronic health conditions. Taking care of these children can create many challenges for families, communities, and mothers who tend to be the ones who take on the responsibility of providing the day-to-day care required. Evidence suggests that individuals in rural areas experience difficulties accessing social and health care resources; mainly specialist services. Caring for a child with a chronic health condition in a rural environment thus presents maternal caregivers with increased challenges. The study described in this thesis explored rural mothers in Australia experiences of caring for a child with a chronic health condition (CHC). The study aimed was to answer two research questions. Firstly: What are rural mothers' experiences of caring for a child with a CHC in a rural setting? And secondly, What support services and resources do rural mothers identify as necessary to manage their child's caregiving needs? Only limited accounts of rural mothers' experiences of caring for a child with a chronic health condition exist.</p> <p>Phenomenology was considered as an appropriate methodology to guide the study. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with seventeen mothers. All mothers resided in a rural area of New South Wales, Australia and provided primary care for a child with a chronic health condition. Mothers in the study had children with varying chronic health conditions. Participants completed a genogram and demographic survey at the commencement of each interview. Data collected predominantly through the mothers’ interviews were analysed thematically, forming three themes from their experiential accounts: (1) Heading to the Big Smoke, (2) Alone in the outback, (3) Surmounting the Terrain. The three sub-themes formed the overarching theme for the study: Conquering the Great Divide, encapsulating the essence of this lived experience. </p> <p>Rural mothers' caregiving journeys expressed in each theme illustrate the struggles and strategies they encounter to find support, services, and resources necessary to manage their child's chronic health condition. Challenges of rurality relating to access and isolation presented risk factors whilst resilience strategies they developed offered protective factors. A proposed framework for maternal resilience is presented, illustrating the interaction of the risk and protective factors that these mothers experienced. The findings suggest participants’ protective factors buffer them against risk factors necessitating them to access social capital, obtain management strategies, and develop emotional well-being for resilience. Nurses can assist in developing maternal resilience for rural mothers caring for a child with a chronic health condition. Maternal resilience assists in positive adaptation to the complexities and adversities rural mothers face in their caregiving role, which helps to improve the quality of care provided for children, and enables the mother and child to thrive!</p>