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BMC Pediatrics
Published in: BMC Pediatrics 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Long-time sickness absence among parents of pre-school children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida and down syndrome: a longitudinal study

Authors: Idunn Brekke, Elena Albertini Früh, Lisbeth Gravdal Kvarme, Henrik Holmstrøm

Published in: BMC Pediatrics | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

Taking care of a child with special needs can be draining and difficult and require a lot of parental time and resources. The present study investigated the long-term sickness absence of parents who have children with spina bifida, cerebral palsy and Down syndrome compared to that of parents without a child with special needs.

Methods

The sample consisted of primiparae women who gave birth between 2001 and 2005 and the fathers of the children (N = 202,593). Data were obtained from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN), which is linked to the Central Population Register, education and income registries and Historical Event Database (FD-Trygd) of Statistics Norway (SSB). The linkage data provide longitudinal data, together with annual updates on children and their parents. Statistical analyses were performed using difference-in-difference (DD) study design.

Results

Caring for a child with special needs affected maternal sickness absence, particularly in the first year after the birth. The level of sickness absence of mothers caring for a child with spina bifida and cerebral palsy was greater than that of mothers caring for a child with Down syndrome. In contrast, the sickness absence of fathers caring for a child with special needs was, on average, comparable to that of fathers without a special-needs child in the post-birth period.

Conclusions

Caring for a child with special needs affected the long-term sickness absence of mothers but not fathers. The findings indicate that the burden of care in the case of children with special needs falls especially on the mother.
Footnotes
1
T-tests were conducted of the mothers of children with spina bifida/cerebral palsy and the mothers of children with Down syndrome (t-value = 1.96). T-values shown in bold indicate a significant difference in sickness absence.
 
2
In 2014, the mean attendance allowance received in Norway among parents caring for a child with special needs was 6506 EUR.
 
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Metadata
Title
Long-time sickness absence among parents of pre-school children with cerebral palsy, spina bifida and down syndrome: a longitudinal study
Authors
Idunn Brekke
Elena Albertini Früh
Lisbeth Gravdal Kvarme
Henrik Holmstrøm
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Pediatrics / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2431
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-016-0774-8

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