Caring for those who care: the importance of providing nursing care to women caring for disabled children

Abstract

Objective: To provide nursing care to females, who are caregivers of children with disabilities, and to assess the presence of risk factors for developing DM. Method: This was a field study where three health initiatives, focusing on the caregivers, were conducted. The following parameters of the caregivers were recorded: blood pressure (BP), postprandial capillary glucose (PPCG) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). All of the collected data were analyzed and results with p values of <0.05 were considered significant. Results: It was observed that a considerable portion of the caregivers displayed alterations in all of the evaluated parameters (risk factors). Conclusions and Implications to the practice: Caregivers of children with disabilities have been shown to possess risk factors for the onset and progression of DM. Health initiatives are beneficial to these caregivers, because they educated the population about self and preventive care. Thus, the present study highlights an area of nursing that focuses on and attempts to improve the the health and quality of life for the underprivileged.