Aim: The number of children with chronic diseases has increased due to developments in medicine. The aim of this study is to determine whether children with and without chronic disease differ in terms of their emotional states and relationships with their environment.
Methods: Children of ages between 4 and 11 who applied to pediatrics polyclinics were included in this case-control study. While children with any chronic disease were included to the case group, children without any of the identified chronic diseases, either with a complaint of less than 10 days, or no complaint, were included in the control group. A questionnaire about demographic features, and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was applied to the caregivers of the children. The results were analyzed with SPSS 21 program; descriptive tests and hypothesis tests were applied.
Results: Both the case and control groups consisted of 125 children; and the place of the longest residence of children in the case group was found to be a district and/or village, which was statistically different than the control group (p=0.011). Regarding SDQ and its sub-groups, the only significant difference between the case and study groups was emotional difficulties (p=0,018). When we analyzed the answers to the question about challenges faced, it was observed that children with chronic diseases had more/greater problems with their peer relations (p=0.015), and life challenges were more significant (p=0,038).
Conclusion: In the approach taken to the pediatric patient group in primary care, it is important to consider carefully daily life events bearing in mind the potentially multifaceted effects of the disease.
Key words: primary care, SDQ, peer relations, chronic disease, childcare
Key words: primary care, SDQ, peer relations, chronic disease, childcare
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