Poverty and the wellbeing of children with sickle cell disease: The mediating role of parenting stress.

Background: Living in poverty in the midst of caring for a child with sickle cell disease (SCD) presents with challenges that may be overwhelming for caregivers. Prior research has shown a relationship between poverty and poor outcomes in children; however, no study has investigated the mediating role of parenting stress on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) for such children.

Procedure: A total of 150 patients, ages 8-17 years and their parents, were enrolled and completed measures of parenting stress (caregivers) and HRQOL (patients).