2025 WCHRI Summer Student

How mental stress affects caregivers of children with tracheostomies

Sela Scott’s research explores the mental stress experienced by families of children with tracheostomies — surgical openings in the windpipe to help with breathing.

The procedure has become more common in children with complex medical needs. It requires intensive, ongoing care, which puts immense strain on families. Scott aims to track their stress at three stages: after the tracheostomy is placed, after the child is moved from intensive care to an inpatient unit, and just before the child leaves the hospital for home.

Her project builds on previous research — recently featured in Folio — about the cascade of tough decisions families face around tracheostomy.

“The pressure on caregivers can be intense. By tracking stress levels at key points during the hospital stay, we hope to better understand what families go through and create supports to make this hospital journey and eventual transition home a little more manageable.”

Goals:

• Evaluate mental stress levels of caregivers as their child transitions through hospital units.
• Understand the factors that contribute to caregiver mental stress.
• Inform future initiatives aimed at supporting caregivers and improving the transition from hospital to home.

Potential impact: By shedding light on the immense mental burden carried by caregivers, the findings can lead to the development of tools and systems to support their well-being, leading to better outcomes for both the children and their families.

Supervisor: Maria Castro-Codesal, associate professor, Department of Pediatrics

Funders: Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation

Interested in doing research to improve the health of women and/or children? Read more about WCHRI’s training awards for students at all levels and generous grants for researchers.