Pakistani Muslim mothers: Caregiving for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities

Background: Based on the literature, 61% of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are living at home. However, the literature did not address Pakistani Muslim mothers' perceptions and competencies in caregiving for these individuals.;Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore mothers' perceptions of caregiving for their children with IDD, the competencies and skills that are relevant and effective, and the environmental supports that the mothers use.;Methods: A convenience sample of 30 Pakistani Muslim mothers from a local self-help group in a Midwestern city completed a 27-item Likert scale questionnaire (Hewitt, 1998) addressing 10 competencies and skills relevant to care for people with IDD. Identifying commonly used environmental supports (personal caregiving, advocacy, and community support services/communication) and self-perception of effective caregiving outcomes. Participants discussed their situations in open ended questions with the investigator both for quantitative data and their opinions. Descriptive analysis and chi square were used for analysis and to support the relevance of the questionnaire. The association and correlation between self-perception of effective caregiving, demographics, and caregiving environmental support was assessed.;Results: The study demonstrated that the competencies questionnaire can be used by the mothers. The conceptual framework was useful in guiding the study. The competencies and skills were significantly related to mothers' self-perception of effective caregiving (p < .05). Caregiving environmental support and demographics were correlated to competencies at p < .01. However, self-perception of effective caregiving is not directly related to caregiving environmental support and demographic variables.;Conclusion: This study added to the knowledge of Pakistani Muslim mothers' perspectives and the challenges they face in caring for their children with IDD. Health care professionals need to educate the whole family. Mothers should be linked with caregiving environmental support to reduce their isolation. For future research, intervention studies can be developed to examine effective caregiving competencies and skills for children with IDD.