SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Children and Health
This article is part of the Research TopicChildren in Global Health: Promoting Health Equity from the Perspective of Media, Culture and CommunicationView all 16 articles
The quality of Life of Parents of Children with Disabilities in Saudi Arabia: A Systematic Review
Provisionally accepted
- Taif University, Ta'if, Saudi Arabia
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The quality of life (QoL) of parents and caregivers of children with disabilities in Saudi Arabia is examined in this systematic review. Fourteen cross-sectional studies published between 2020 and 2024 are included, encompassing 1,841 caregivers, of whom 60.2% are mothers, 23.1% fathers, and 18.4% other caregivers, caring for 1,460 children with disabilities. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, cerebral palsy (CP), and Down syndrome (DS) are the most commonly reported conditions. QoL is primarily assessed using the WHOQOL-BREF in 10 studies, followed by the SF-36 in two studies and the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale in one study. Negative QoL outcomes are reported in at least one domain in 9 of the 10 WHOQOL-BREF studies. The physical domain is most frequently affected (50% of studies), followed by the social and environmental domains (40% each) and the psychological domain (30%). More than half of caregivers (53.6%) are reported to be unemployed, and poorer QoL is consistently associated with unemployment, lower income, limited education, and restricted access to support services. Lower QoL is most frequently reported by mothers and by caregivers of children with severe or multiple disabilities, highlighting the need for targeted support interventions.
Keywords: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Cerebral palsy (CP), children with disabilities, Down syndrome (DS), Quality of life (QoL)
Received: 23 Sep 2025; Accepted: 28 Jan 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Alghamdi, Alzahrani, Almalki and ALGARNI. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Atiah H. Almalki
MAJED ALGARNI
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