Addition of an educational programme for primary caregivers to rehabilitation improves self-care and mobility in children with cerebral palsy: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE

To assess whether the addition of an education programme for primary caregivers to rehabilitation improves daily functioning in children with cerebral palsy.

DESIGN

A randomized, single-blind, controlled study.

SETTING

This study was conducted in a rehabilitation centre in Salvador, Brazil.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 63 boys and girls with cerebral palsy, at 1-12 years of age, with Gross Motor Function Classification Systems I-V, were randomly assigned to two groups: educational programme for primary caregivers and conventional rehabilitation ( n = 29) or conventional rehabilitation alone ( n = 31).

INTERVENTION

Each group received 12 sessions of 30 minutes of conventional rehabilitation and 12 sessions of 45 minutes to intervention group.

MEASUREMENTS

Gross Motor Function Classification System, Gross Motor Function Measure and daily functioning with the Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory were assessed by a blinded assessor. The clinical outcomes were obtained at the completion of treatment (12 weeks).

RESULTS

Of the 63 patients included, 60 (mean ± SD age: 4.6 ± 2.74 years) completed the protocol. The combined education and rehabilitation, as compared with conventional rehabilitation alone, yielded significantly greater benefit in the self-care domain of the Functional Skills Scale (mean change 1.74 versus 5; P = 0.001), self-care (mean change 5.52 versus 13.99; P = 0.017) and the mobility domain of the Caregiver Assistance Scale of Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (mean change 0.87 versus 17.88; P = 0.002).

CONCLUSION

Self-care and mobility improved in children with cerebral palsy with the addition to conventional rehabilitation of an educational programme for primary caregivers.