Perceived stress among caregivers of children with epilepsy in a tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka

Background Caring for a child with epilepsy often causes a significant psychological burden on caregivers, leading to elevated stress levels that may affect both caregiver well-being and child care outcomes. In resource-limited settings like Sri Lanka, limited awareness, treatment challenges, and socioeconomic constraints may further intensify caregiver stress. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 220 primary caregivers of epileptic children attending the Pediatric Neurology Clinic at National Hospital Galle, Sri Lanka. A validated Sinhala version of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) was used. The data were analyzed with SPSS 26 software, using descriptive statistics, Chi square test, independent sample t-test, and Pearson correlation. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee of the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, University of Ruhuna. Results The majority of the caregivers were female (68.2%), married (95.9%), and living in rural areas (80.5%). Mean (± SD) age was 39.3 (± 7.7) years. The PSS total score revealed that the majority ( n = 178, 80.9%) experienced a moderate level of stress. Significant associations were found between caregivers’ stress and residential area ( p = 0.007), awareness of sudden epileptic attacks management ( p = 0.023), child’s use of epilepsy medications ( p = 0.018), and monthly household income ( p = 0.002). Conclusions The study showed that the majority of caregivers of epileptic children experienced moderate to high stress. Significant associations were found with residential area, awareness of seizure management, the child’s medication use, and monthly income. Interventions focusing on caregiver education, psychosocial support, and assistance for rural and low-income families are recommended to reduce stress. Clinical trial number Not applicable.