Mothers who care for a child with a disability or chronic condition are more likely to say they are in poor health than are the fathers, particularly if the child's condition persists, Statistics Canada reported Wednesday.

The report used Statistics Canada data tracking families from 1994 to 2000 to compare parents of healthy children aged six to 15 to those whose children are chronically sick or disabled.

More support should be offered to parents of children with disabilities or chronic conditions, says Shelly Phipps.
(CBC)

Of the mothers in the study who were caring for a sick child, nearly 11 per cent said they were in poor or fair health, compared to just over five per cent of the mothers whose families were otherwise the same but did not have an unhealthy child, the researchers found.

Mothers with disabled or chronically sick children were 1.5 times as likely to report poor or fair health as were mothers with healthy children who reported smoking daily.

No difference was observed among fathers.

"We think that it might be the nature of the responsibilities that the mother has that's stressful for her and leads to lower health," said the study's lead author, Shelly Phipps, an economics professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Mothers may be dealing with the stress of caring for an ill or disabled child, possibly along with paid work, Phipps said, while fathers often have the responsibility of maintaining a breadwinner role.

The results suggest parents should be offered respite and compassionate care, including time off with compensation, the researchers said. That way, fathers could help care for the children without losing family income.

"We think that our results suggest that we need to enhance the supports that are available for mothers and fathers, but particularly mothers … obviously for the well-being of the mothers, but also for the well-being of the children," Phipps told CBC Newsworld on Wednesday.

"If the mothers end up burnt out and exhausted and with lower health status then they won't be able to maintain their caregiver role."

The study focused on couples who remained married throughout the study period.