Background: Caring for children with special care needs places persistent psychological and physical strain on the caregivers, which could have a deteriorating effect on their selfcompetence and overall functioning. Aim of the study: The study aimed to evaluate the effect of a group-based intervention on caregiving strain and parenting self-competence
among caregivers of children with special care needs. Subjects and Methods; Research design: A quasi-experimental (pre-test/post-test) study was conducted at Sabeel Association for children with special care needs in Zefta City, Gharbia governorate. Subjects: A Convenient sample of 47 caregivers of children with special care needs was recruited.
Tools of data collection: Data were collected by three tools; (1) An interview questionnaire including; socio-demographic characteristics of caregivers and clinical characteristics of their children, (2) Caregiver Strain Questionnaire-Short Form, and (3) Parenting Sense of Competence (PSOC) scale. Results: Statistically significant improvements in all dimensions
of caregiver strain (p<0.001) were found after the implementation of the intervention. As well, there was a statistically significant improvement in parenting satisfaction, efficacy, and PSOC (p=0.0001), indicating improvements in parenting self-competence of the participated caregivers in post intervention phase. Also, the results revealed a high statistically significant negative correlation between parenting self-competency score and caregivers' strain score in post-intervention (r= -0.48 at p=0.001). Conclusion: The group-based intervention had a positive effect on improving caregivers' self-competence and lessening their caregiving strain. Recommendations: Group-based interventions should be widely implemented in community healthcare centers to enhance caregiver self-competence and alleviate caregiving strain.