Health Status of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Cross Sectional Study in Karachi

Abstract

Objective: To describe the health status of children with cerebral palsy (CP) of all type of severities in different rehabilitation centers, Karachi. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Place & Duration: Liaquat University of Medical & Health Sciences, Jamshoro, Sindh, Pakistan from 1' January 2013 to 30`h June 2013. Material & Methods: A sample of 100 CP children was selected through convenience sampling according to well delineated inclusion and exclusion criteria. Children having progressive neurologic disorder were excluded from the study. A validated Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ PF-50 ) was used and all the questions were answered by the child's parents, care taker or special educators, prior to verbal consent. The study was approved by ethical review committee of the institute. Data was analyzed by the Statistical Packages of Social Sciences ( SPSS) version 20, using descriptive statistics with a p value of <0.05 taken significant. Results: Out of 100 children. the age between 8 to 10 years was about 62%, other 38% of the children were aged between 11 to 13 years. Moreover, 65% parents rate their child's behavior as unsatisfactory, 32% parents satisfy and 3% parents were rating good behavior oftheir child. Conclusion: Children with cerebral palsy were found with poor quality of life and health status. It is suggested that the health status of CP children should be promoted to include behavioral and stress management, daily functional activities and self-efficacy techniques.