Assessment of the Quality of Life and Relationship of Mental Status Among Parents with Cerebral Palsy Children in a Single Centre Study

Easmin Ara Doly; Zannatul Mawa; Mohammad Nazmul Hasan; Mohsina Sultana; Farzana Sharmin; Mohammad Ainur Nishad Rajib; Aminul Haque  Rasel; Zahid  Hossain; Shujayt Gani

doi:10.18502/jmr.v18i2.15982

Easmin Ara Doly Department of Physiotherapy, Firoza Bari Disabled Children Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Zannatul Mawa Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP), Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mohammad Nazmul Hasan Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP), Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mohsina Sultana Child Development Centre, Hospital Service Management (HSM), Directorate General of Health Services, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Farzana Sharmin Department of Physiotherapy, Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST), Khulna, Bangladesh.
Mohammad Ainur Nishad Rajib Enam Medical College & Hospital, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Aminul Haque Rasel Bangladesh Health Professions Institute (BHPI), Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Zahid Hossain Department of Physiotherapy, Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST), Khulna, Bangladesh
Shujayt Gani Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed (CRP), Dhaka, Bangladesh.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jmr.v18i2.15982

Keywords: Outcome assessment; Depression; Quality of life; Parents, Cerebral palsy

Abstract

Introduction: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) in Bangladesh suffer immensely, with no means or hope for a decent life and a public system lacking basic facilities.This study aims to analyze the quality of life (QoL) and depression status of parents among children with CP, as well as the relationship between these factors and their demographic profile.

Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study in which data were collected from the Pediatric Department of Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) in Savar. The participants included 150 children with CP between January 2018 and December 2020.

Results: The mean age of the mothers (29.86±6.14) was between 25 and 29 years (32.7%). The most common type of CP was spastic CP among 100 mothers (66.7%). A significant relationship was observed between the mother’s age during marriage and World Health Organization quality of life (WHOQoL-BREF), physical health (P<0.01), psychological health (P<0.01), and the age group of 31-35 years had the lowest scores (Mean±SD 62.00±5.16, 51±0.683) in both domains. A strong correlation (P<0.001) was observed between QoL, physical health (r=0.319), psychological (r=0.365), social (r=0.390) and environmental (r=0.388). From the box plot, QoL showed that spastic CP posed good QoL for mild depression while all other types had neither poor nor good QoL.

Conclusion: A hidden issue in every parent is that CP children are the misfortune of their fate that increases their level of depression and consequently decreases their QoL.