ACTA FAC MED NAISS 2014;31(1):75-79

Original article

UDC:304.3-055.26:616.831-009.11-053.2

DOI:10.2478/afmnai-2014-0008

Effect of Child's Cerebral Palsy on the Mother: a Case Control Study in Ahvaz, Iran

Samira Borzoo¹, Mansoureh Nickbakht², Mehrdad Jalalian³

¹Msc. in Rehabilitation Administration. Department of Rehabilitation Management, Faculty of Rehabilitation Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

²Msc. in Rehabilitation Administration. Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran

³Editor In-Chief, Electronic Physician Journal, Mashhad, Iran


SUMMARY

Quality of life (QOL) in families can be affected when a child has cerebral palsy (CP). The aim of this research was to determine the effect of a child’s disability on the mother’s quality of life by comparing mothers of children with CP and mothers of normal children. Two sample groups were chosen from a total of 42 mothers to answer a short-form health survey (SF-36) questionnaire. The first group included 21 mothers of children with cerebral palsy who were referred to the speech therapy clinic of Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences in Ahvaz. The second group consisted of 21 mothers of normal children living in Ahvaz. T-tests by SPSS were used for statistical analysis. There were significant differences in all domains of QOL between mothers of healthy children and mothers of children with cerebral palsy (p=0.001). This research found that the quality of life of mothers of children with CP was significantly different compared to mothers of healthy children. Therefore, appropriate planning is necessary to improve their quality of life in different domains.

Key words: quality of life, mothers, cerebral palsy, Iran