Outcome of a Two-week In-patient Program for Children with CerebralPalsyat Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed: Parental Knowledge, Attitudeand Practice

Sk. Moniruzzaman; Dorine van Ravensberg; Md. Shamim Miah; Md. Shahjahan

Sk. Moniruzzaman^(1*), Dorine van Ravensberg⁽²⁾, Md. Shamim Miah⁽³⁾, Md. Shahjahan⁽⁴⁾

(1) Head & Associate Professor, Deaprtment of Occupational Therapy, BHPI, Savar, Dhaka- 1343
(2) Adjunct Faculty, MRS, BHPI
(3) Scientific Officer, BMRC
(4) Associate Professor, Daffodil University
(*) Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a devastating paediatric condition that causes severe motor-sensory impairment,activity limitation, and participation restriction. Children with CP need therapeutic interventions including parentalor caregiver education from a multidisciplinary team to optimize their child’s motor skills, independence, andparticipation in daily life and the community. The Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed offers children withCP and their caregivers a comprehensive two-week residential multi-disciplinary therapy program. The purpose ofthis study is to explore the outcome of this program on Parental Knowledge, Attitude and Practices (KAP) and onthe abilities of the child (sitting, standing, walking, hand use and communication).Methods: Parental KAP and improvement in the child’s functioning were assessed through pre and post-programevaluation using questionnaires and observation instruments (Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory,Caregivers’ Assistant Scale) and five-point Likert scale. Data were obtained from 110 caregivers and 110 childrenwith cerebral palsy.Results: Most children (90%) in this program appeared to be older than 2 years, and 6 children were older than9 years. None of the children have had rehab before. Knowledge of caregivers regarding e.g., access to school,environmental modifications, food and daily stimulation needed for children with CP enhanced from pre-program10-20% ‘correct’ answers to post-program 80-100% ‘correct’ answers. Attitude: ‘regularly’ playing with a child,singing and telling stories, taking a child out, giving the child different kinds of food and toys: at pre-program allbelow 20%changed to 70-80% post-program ‘regularly’ done. Practice: pre-program <30% ‘correctly showed’ howto carry the child, feed, dress and undress, wash/bath the child and give objects in its hands; post-program 80% andmore ‘correct’ handling.Conclusion: All children showed significant improvements in functioning within these two weeks of the program.Therefore, it was found that the two-week in-patient program is highly effective for parental KAP and for improvingthe functional and motor abilities of children with cerebral palsy.

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