The impact of raising a child with a developmental or physical health condition in Ethiopia

Objective Raising a child with a developmental disability or physical health condition can have a major impact on the lives of their families, especially in low-income countries. We explored the impact on such families in Ethiopia. Study design A total of 241 child-caregiver dyads were recruited from two public hospitals in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Of these, 139 children were diagnosed with a developmental disability (e.g. autism, intellectual disability) and 102 children with a physical health condition (e.g. malnutrition, severe HIV infection). The family quality of life was assessed using caregiver reports on the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory™ (PedsQL-FIM™). The disability weight score, which is a Global Burden of Disease measure to quantify health loss, was estimated for each child. Results Families with a child with a developmental disability reported lower quality of life than families caring for a child with a physical health condition (p < .001). Mean disability weight scores in children with a developmental disability were higher than in children with a physical health condition (p < .001), indicating more severe health loss. Disability weight scores were negatively associated with the family quality of life in the whole group (B=−16.8, SE=7.5, p = .026), but not in the stratified analyses. Conclusions Caring for a child with a developmental disability in Ethiopia is associated with a substantial reduction in the family quality of life. Scaling up support for these children in resource-limited contexts should be prioritized.