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Peer-reviewedCC BYHealthcare (Basel, Switzerland)

Support Needs of Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome in Kuwait.

  • Sana A AlBustan1
  • Hadeel S Ayyad1
  • Fatima S Afaar2
  • Ghezlan A Alostath1
  • Dana K AlGhareeb3
  • Hussain A Abdulla4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Communication Disorders Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Kuwait University, Sabah AlSalem University City, Shadadiya, P.O. Box 5069, Safat 13060, Kuwait.
  2. 2Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Science Rd, Camperdown NSW 2050, Australia.
  3. 3Alfekrya School for Special Needs, Ministry of Education, Hawalli 900002, Kuwait.
  4. 4Independent Researcher, Manama, Bahrain.
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Abstract

Background objective: This study explored the level of support needs of mothers of children with Down syndrome (DS) in Kuwait following postnatal diagnosis, across four domains: educational needs, professional needs, social needs, and primary caregiver support needs. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 82 mothers of children with DS residing in Kuwait. Descriptive statistics were calculated, while group comparisons (in terms of needs) were conducted using nonparametric tests, and internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Reliability estimates ranged from α = 0.79 to α = 0.89 across the four subscales, with an overall alpha of 0.93. Results: Participants reported high levels of need across all domains, including educational, professional, social, and primary caregiver support needs, with a median score of 5 on a 1-5 scale (Likert). The most prominent finding in group comparison was the significant association between family size and the social needs score (p = 0.012), where the median was 5 (IQR: 4.89-5.00) for family size < 3, and it decreased as we moved towards larger families, until it reached 3.78 for family size > 8. Conclusions: Caregiver demands following a postnatal DS diagnosis were multidimensional and strongly interconnected. Findings underscore the importance of coordinated post-diagnosis services that addressed informational, professional, social, and practical support needs for mothers and primary caregivers.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{albustan2026support,
  title = {{Support Needs of Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome in Kuwait.}},
  author = {Sana A AlBustan and Hadeel S Ayyad and Fatima S Afaar and Ghezlan A Alostath and Dana K AlGhareeb and Hussain A Abdulla},
  journal = {Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3390/healthcare14203368},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940413},
  note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Support Needs of Mothers of Children with Down Syndrome in Kuwait.
AU  - Sana A AlBustan
AU  - Hadeel S Ayyad
AU  - Fatima S Afaar
AU  - Ghezlan A Alostath
AU  - Dana K AlGhareeb
AU  - Hussain A Abdulla
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/09
JO  - Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)
DO  - 10.3390/healthcare14203368
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42940413
AB  - Background objective: This study explored the level of support needs of mothers of children with Down syndrome (DS) in Kuwait following postnatal diagnosis, across four domains: educational needs, professional needs, social needs, and primary caregiver support needs. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 82 mothers of children with DS residing in Kuwait. Descriptive statistics were calculated, while group comparisons (in terms of needs) were conducted using nonparametric tests, and internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. Reliability estimates ranged from α = 0.79 to α = 0.89 across the four subscales, with an overall alpha of 0.93. Results: Participants reported high levels of need across all domains, including educational, professional, social, and primary caregiver support needs, with a median score of 5 on a 1-5 scale (Likert). The most prominent finding in group comparison was the significant association between family size and the social needs score (p = 0.012), where the median was 5 (IQR: 4.89-5.00) for family size < 3, and it decreased as we moved towards larger families, until it reached 3.78 for family size > 8. Conclusions: Caregiver demands following a postnatal DS diagnosis were multidimensional and strongly interconnected. Findings underscore the importance of coordinated post-diagnosis services that addressed informational, professional, social, and practical support needs for mothers and primary caregivers.
SN  - 2227-9032
ER  -