Family leadership among Israeli families of children with disabilities during the 2019 coronavirus disease pandemic

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate family leadership in family centres for families of children with disabilities in Israel amid the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The study focuses on mapping family leadership activities within these family centres during the COVID-19 pandemic and explores potential associations between participation in family leadership groups and family outcomes. Thirty-five parents who were involved in family leadership groups and 42 parents of a control group completed an online survey. The survey included the Family Leadership Activity Measure, the Sense of Community Index, the Emergency Families Centre Services Index, the Sense of Sharing Index, the Brief Family Distress Scale and the Beach Center Family Quality of Life Scale. Significant differences were found among groups with regard to barriers to services usage, family centre services usage, family's satisfaction with services, sense of community with the family centre and sense of sharing. Parents who were involved in family leadership groups demonstrated favourable outcomes. No significant differences were found between the groups in family quality of life and distress. It is determined that in times of local or national crises, family leadership may promote more family-centred supports.