Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that significantly affects the daily lives of both children and their parents. Parents of children with AD often face numerous physical, emotional, and social challenges. Negovanje otroka postane vsakodnevna naloga, ki zahteva veliko časa, energije in prilagajanja. In the process, self-care often falls to the bottom of the list, even though it is crucial for maintaining inner balance and stability in family life. When parents don't take care of themselves, they can experience feelings of exhaustion, burnout, and reduced resilience to stressful situations. Parents of children with AD often experience feelings of misunderstanding, loneliness, and guilt, as they do not always have the opportunity to alleviate their child's problems. Family dynamics change, with a lot of attention focused on the child, which can reduce time for other family members and cause tension in the relationship between partners. In addition, parents are often exposed to reactions from the environment, such as stigmatization, unpleasant looks, and prejudices due to the condition of their child's skin, which further increases the feeling of isolation.
In the theoretical part of my thesis, I presented the characteristics of AD, the specifics of children with AD, and the challenges their parents face. I have described in more detail how parents cope with the diagnosis, what their emotional responses are, how the dynamics in the family change, and what self-care means in this context. I also touched on the possibilities and forms of support available to families with a child with AD, as well as the role of social work.
In the empirical part, I focused on researching the importance of self-care for parents of children with AD. Using partially structured interviews, I wanted to find out how these parents experience everyday life with their child, what challenges they face, how they recognize their own needs, and when and how they take time for themselves. I also researched what forms of support help them with this and what hinders them from taking care of themselves. I was also interested in the role of the broader social network, such as partners, relatives, friends, and professional workers.
Research results show that parents of children with AD often feel overwhelmed and have difficulty finding time for their own needs. Feeling responsible for the child and a lack of understanding from the surroundings are among the main reasons why taking care of oneself is not a priority for parents. When they are able to take care of themselves, they most often do so by seeking support from loved ones or by joining support groups. They understand taking care of themselves as something important but difficult to achieve. The research findings indicate the need for greater awareness and systemic support that would provide parents with more opportunities to take care of themselves, thereby contributing to a greater sense of stability and inner balance in family life.
|
