Effect of Training the Correct Methods of Child's Carrying and Positioning on Quality of Life of Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Background:Children with Cerebral palsy need to be cared like other children, the same as other children do. Usually the primary caregivers of children are their mothers who experience several problems due to this prolonged care. Objectives: This research aimed to investigate the effect of education of the correct ways of carrying and positioning to mothers of children with cerebral palsy on mothers' quality of life (QOL). Patients and Methods:This randomized clinical trial was conducted on 20 mothers of children with cerebral palsy who were referred to rehabilitation centers of Ahvaz school of rehabilitation sciences. They were randomly assigned to two groups of ten. The correct ways of carrying and positioning were instructed in two sessions to experimental group and then QOL in both groups was assessed at baseline, after second session, and after four weeks. The data were analyzed by the SPSS version 16. Results: The mean differences in three domains of QOL including the physical health, psychological health, and environmental health, were significant between groups (P < 0.05). The difference in scores of social relationships domain was not significant between groups (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Since the difference between groups was significant in three domains of QOL, it can be concluded that the training could influence the QOL of mothers of children with cerebral palsy. Training the parents by experts is recommended.