Abstract
Background: Family quality of life is a recent concept in disability research. Living with a child with disabilities can affect everyday life in many ways. Researchers have mostly focused on the quality of life of the children with disabilities rather than the caregivers . It is therefore interesting to explore the parents opinions regarding their quality of life. Objectives: The purpose of the study is to find out what parents of children with disabilities think about their quality of life in the family. Therefore, the objectives of the study are: To explore the parents opinions regarding their quality of life in the family, to see how parents perceive that a child with disabilities affects their quality of life and to explore the parents suggestions for improvement in their quality of life. Design: A qualitative research design with semi-structured interviews and a hermeneutic analytical approach were used for this study. Five parents of children with disabilities were interviewed, in Chios Island, Greece. Results: The data analysis revealed two meta-themes, seven themes and twenty one sub-themes. The two meta-themes represent the main findings and emanated from the interview analysis. Meta-theme 1, discusses the need for a disability oriented welfare system for all and meta-theme 2, argues the need for a relaxed everyday life with no stress. The main findings showed that the parents quality of life depends on their children s disabilities. It also emerged that the parents feel disappointment and anger regarding the welfare support they receive from the state as well as fear for their children s future. Nonetheless, the parents reported somehow satisfied with their overall quality of life. Conclusion: The study implies that there is a need for awareness-raising regarding the quality of life of families having children with disabilities. The state should provide laws and policies that are disability oriented as well as educate the community regarding the types of disabilities in order to support the most vulnerable families. These preliminary findings contribute to knowledge concerning the opinions of Greek families having children with disabilities regarding their quality of life. Moreover, they may prove especially helpful as a feedback to the Greek authorities regarding the families needs.