Characteristics of Health-Preserving Behavior of Parents Raising Children with Disabilities

The article presents the results of a study devoted to the study of health-preserving behavior of parents raising children with disabilities aged 6-10 years. The study was conducted in April-May 2024 in the Borovsky District of the Kaluga Region. The research method was a questionnaire survey of parents. The questions touched upon the implementation of such important areas of child health-preservation in the family as home nutrition, daily routine, sleep, hygiene, control over the safe use of gadgets for the child's health, the psychological climate in the family, the attitude of parents to their own health, etc. The process of interaction between parents and a medical institution and medical workers as subjects of child health-preservation was also studied. It was found that the majority of parents (85%) fully comply with the doctor's advice and prescriptions. Most parents (68%) know the specifics of the child's disease and treatment. According to 54% of parents, their children willingly follow the doctor's recommended prescriptions. 15% of parents failed to develop the skill of following doctors' recommendations in their children with disabilities. In 30% of parents, the child does not follow the doctor's orders or follows them thanks to the parents. In every third family, the sick child's sleep schedule is not followed. Only a third of parents (31%) have children who attend exercise therapy classes. Parents have a low level of health-preserving competence in the issue of healthy nutrition. The materials of the article can be used in the work of specialists in medical and social institutions, educational and public organizations, and can also be useful for researchers interested in the problem of health preservation of children with disabilities.