O-156 The Experiences Of Mothers Who Have Children With Cerebral Palsy: A Qualitative Study

• Published in: Archives of disease in childhood 2014-10, Vol.99 (Suppl 2), p.A83
• Main Authors: Kurtuncu, M, L Utas Akhan, Yildiz, H, Demirbag, B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Age; Cerebral palsy; Children; Children & youth; Chronic illnesses; Economic Status; Economics; Education; Elementary Education; Elementary Schools; Middle Schools; Mothers; Paralysis; Qualitative research; Rehabilitation; Sociodemographics; Spouses; Variation
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/archdischild-2014-307384.223

Background and aimsThe purpose of this study is to determine the difficulties experienced by mothers of children with cerebral palsy and their needs.MethodsQualitative design. The study was conducted in the province of Zonguldak, Turkey, at a special rehabilitation centre with 15 children with CP and their mothers registered at the centre. An in-depth interview was held with each of the mothers consenting to participate in the study.ResultsThe subjects’ sociodemographic characteristics shows that mean age is 37.06 ± 1.23 years, most are elementary school-middle school graduates, city-dwellers and 73.3% have no chronic disease. All of the women having children with CP said that they were shocked when they first found out about the diagnosis, that they suffered disappointment, were very frightened because they knew nothing about the disease and also guilty for bringing such a child into the world. It was seen however that fathers had difficulty accepting their child’s sickness but that mothers acknowledged this fact sooner than their spouses. All of the mothers stated that they could not find a suitable institution to place the child and that teachers at school were inadequate in terms of the child’s education and that they would not pay them the attention they needed.ConclusionsThe families with children diagnosed with cerebral palsy, couples are faced with many difficulties that include personal relations, social and economic problems, as well as issues involving the sick child’s care and education. In connexion with these difficulties, it was also seen that the situation took a toll on the sexual lives of parents.Abstract O-156 Table 1Distribution of the sociodemographic characteristics of the subjects (N = 15)Sociodemographic Characteristicsn%Age(± SD)37.06 ± 1.23(Range of variation: 26–44)EducationElementary-Middle SchoolHigh School or equivalent12380.020.0Economic StatusGoodAveragePoor212113.380.06.7Place lived the longestVillageTownCity411026.76.766.7Chronic IllnessHypertensionDiabetesSLENone121116.713.36.773.3Age of Spouse(± SD)42.53 ± 2.04(Range of variation: 30–62)Relations with SpouseGoodAverage10566.733.3Number of Children 12339320.060.020.0Age of Spastic Child(± SD)9.00 ± 1.22(Range of variation: 3–18)