Exploring perceptions of health caregivers on the causes of caregivers’ occupational burnout in institutes of children with cerebral palsy: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND Providing care for children with cerebral palsy (CP) is hard, energy-consuming, and long-term. Consequently, occupational burnout is highly probable for caregivers. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to explore the perception of health caregivers regarding the causes of caregivers' occupational burnout in institutes of children with CP. METHODS This qualitative study was conducted using content analysis methodology during an eight-month period in 2016. Nine caregivers, two managers, and one physiotherapist participated in the study. Purposive sampling method was used to select participants. In depth, semi-structure interviews were used to gather the data. All interviews were conducted at their workplace, in Tehran, Iran. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and overviewed. Constant comparative analyses were used to analyze the interviews. RESULTS The results were categorized into three main categories and nine sub-categories. The main categories were as follows: care-related stress, nature of caring occupation, and organizational demands and resources. CONCLUSION Results of this study showed that several factors are involved in creating burnout among caregivers. The exploration of these factors may help us in designing appropriate interventions for caregivers to correctly implement caring activities so that they less suffer from care-related pressures and also become able to allocate some time for their own activities of interest and for recreational, social, and family activities.