QUALITY OF LIFE IN CAREGIVERS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL OF LAHORE, PAKISTAN.
Abstract
Background: Caring about an intellectually disabled (ID) person can significantly transform the emotional, physical, and social life of the caregiver as it is a life-long obligation. ID diagnosis at birth or later in life is likely to alter family dynamics and bring about grieving responses in addition to generating the ongoing financial and emotional strain.
Objectives: To measure the quality of life (QoL) among caregivers of individuals with intellectual disability (ID) and to identify sociodemographic factors that may aeffect caregiver well-being.
Methods: It is cross-sectional study conducted at Outpatient and Inpatient Psychiatry Departments, Services Hospital, Lahore, from June-2025 to November-2025. Sixty primary caregivers of individuals diagnosed with intellectual disability according to DSM-5 criteria were recruited using non-probability consecutive sampling. Data was collected using a structured socio demographic questionnaire and the Urdu version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), which identifies physical, psychological, social, and environmental domains. Descriptive statistics were calculated and Chi-square test was used to examine associations between QoL and sociodemographic variables. Independent t tests, oneway ANOVA, and multiple linear regression were applied to find out potential predictors of overall QoL.
Results: The average age of caregivers in this study was 41.23 ± 11.35 years, and on average, they had been providing care for about 7–8 years (89.68 ± 50.63 months). Overall, caregivers reported a moderate level of quality of life, with a mean score of 57.52 ± 6.19. When looking at different areas of life, scores were fairly similar: physical health (58.46 ± 9.08), psychological well-being (57.96 ± 11.32), social relationships (56.11 ± 11.95), and environmental factors (57.56 ± 10.36), though social well-being appeared slightly lower than the others. Most of the caregivers were women (71.7%), and more than half were mothers of individuals with intellectual disability (55.0%), highlighting the central caregiving role of mothers in our setting.
Conclusion: Overall caregivers of individuals with intellectual disability were found to have a moderate quality of life with relatively lower satisfaction in social and environmental aspects. These findings suggest a need to shift greater attention toward caregiver support, particularly through psychosocial interventions and community based programs, to improve their overall well-being.
