The effectiveness of family-centered early intervention based on psychological well-being on the general health of mothers of children with hearing impairment

Background and Aim: Several research studies indicate that children born with disabilities impair the general health of their parents. Therefore, it is necessary to address the emotional and psychological needs of parents of children with disabilities through rehabilitation programs. For this reason, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of family-centered early intervention based on psychological well-being on the general health of mothers of children with hearing impairment. Methods: Thirty-two mothers of children with hearing impairment were selected through convenience sampling and randomly assigned to experimental (n=16) and control groups (n=16). The general health of both groups was assessed by general health questionnaire (GHQ) before the intervention as a pretest. The experimental group then participated in 12 sessions of family-centered early intervention program based on psychological well-being, while the control group did not take part. After the experimental group completed the intervention, the general health of both groups was assessed by GHQ as the post-test. Results : Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) showed significant decreases in mean scores on general health and in the subscales (somatic symptoms, anxiety, social dysfunction, and depression) by the experimental group (p<0.05). Conclusion: The findings indicated that family-centered early intervention based on psychological well-being improved the general health symptoms in mothers of children with hearing impairment. Therefore, a method was proposed which designed and implemented this kind of early intervention to improve the general health of mothers of children with hearing impairment.