title: Caring for children with life-threatening illnesses: impact on White, African American, and Latino families.
abstract: We describe the racial and ethnic variation in family impact resulting from caring for a child with a life-threatening illness. Parents of children aged 2-21 years diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening illness and enrolled in Florida's Medicaid and Children's Medical Services Network programs were surveyed. Two hundred sixty-six telephone surveys were conducted in English and Spanish between November 2007 and April 2008. In adjusted models, compared with Whites, Latinos reported that their child's illness resulted in a greater negative impact on the family. Continued study of this group of parents is critical to developing culturally appropriate interventions to reduce strain and burden and improve the quality of life for families.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Outcomes and Policy, University of Florida, College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL, USA. mhinojosa@ichp.ufl.edu
authors.forename: Melanie Sberna
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hinojosa
authors.forename: Caprice A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Knapp
authors.forename: Vanessa L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Madden
authors.forename: I-Chan
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Phyllis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sloyer
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Shenkman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003710:Demography; D019988:Children with Disabilities; D005260:Female; D005431:Florida; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012044:Regression Analysis; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult