PubMedDate not supplied
BACKGROUND: There is a lack of literature describing the changes in daily routine that parents caring for a child in a body cast must experience. The investigator's clinical experience suggested that determining these changes in parental daily routine would inform nurses of appropriate interventions for these parents. PURPOSE: This Roy Adaptation Model-based pilot study was designed to examine the relation of personal health and self-esteem to functional status of caregivers of children in a body cast. Functional status was defined as performance of household activities, social and community activities, care of the child in the body cast activities, care of other children activities, personal care activities, and occupational activities. METHODS: Data was collected from 16 caregivers of children in body casts, birth to up to 3 years of age, and 14 caregivers of children in body casts, 3 to 12 years of age. RESULTS: The results of the study suggested that parents of children in body casts undergo many changes in their daily activities. Parents of children ages 3-12 years had more changes than parents of children ages birth to 3 years. The study findings suggest that a larger sample may yield some statistically significant results.