Caregiving burden and health disparities: A nationwide study of 2,180 parents caring for children with developmental disabilities in South Korea.

Abstract

Parents are the primary caregivers for children with developmental disabilities in most families. Caregiving burden may manifest across multiple domains of daily living and well-being of parents caring for children with developmental disabilities (PCCDD). This study assessed caregiving burden and lifetime experiences due to caregiving burden and identified health disparities between PCCDD and the general population. A nationwide survey of 2,180 Korean PCCDD was conducted in 2024 and analyzed in 2025. This study assessed the prevalence of health indicators, including poor self-rated health, past-year suicidal behaviors, and past-year unmet healthcare and dental care needs. To compare the prevalence of health indicators between PCCDD and the general population, sex- and age-standardized prevalence ratios (SPRs) were estimated using nationally representative data from the 2023 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Among PCCDD, 86.9% reported an overall caregiving burden, and 51.9% had no backup caregiver available when needed. Furthermore, 66.9% reported having ever quit a job due to caregiving burden. In SPR analyses, PCCDD showed higher prevalence across all indicators compared with the general population. The prevalence of suicidal ideation (SPR: 7.31, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 6.76-7.90), suicide plans (SPR: 8.59, 95% CI: 7.30-10.10), and suicide attempts (SPR: 4.03, 95% CI: 3.05-5.33) was higher among PCCDD than in the general population. Additionally, the prevalence of unmet healthcare needs was higher (SPR: 6.00, 95% CI: 5.66-6.36). The findings suggest that PCCDD had poorer health but did not receive needed healthcare compared with the general population.