Burden experienced by family caregivers of children with lower limb impairments with and without ankle foot orthoses in South Africa.

Background: Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) improve ankle-foot stability and alignment. They might reduce the burden of care because they facilitate independent function. However, AFO use can add additional stressors such as adherence to wearing schedules and aiding with donning that might increase caregiver burden.

Objectives: The study aimed to quantify the burden experienced by family caregivers of children wearing AFOs in South Africa and to determine if there is a difference in the burden experienced by caregivers of children who have AFOs and those waiting for AFOs.

Study design: A cross-sectional survey was done in 4 South African provinces.

Methods: One hundred and twenty-three caregivers were identified through consecutive sampling. They completed the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers between March and June 2023. Descriptive and comparative analysis (χ2 test and Pearson correlation coefficient) were done.

Results: Eighty-three (67.48%) children had an AFO, whereas 40 (32.52%) needed one. The mean caregiver burden score for caregivers of children with AFOs was 21.82/60 (standard deviation 6.49), and for caregivers of children needing AFOs was 24.60 (standard deviation 5.63). Most family caregivers (69; 83.13%) of children with AFOs and children needing AFOs (32; 80.00%) experienced no to mild levels of burden. The difference in burden experienced by the 2 groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.671082).

Conclusions: Caregivers of children who can walk and use AFOs experience low to moderate levels of burden. AFOs did not reduce the caregiver burden statistically. However, clinically the burden experienced by caregivers was reduced.