Saleh Maysoun Nimer, Alharbi Ahmad, Albalwi Abdulaziz, Alatawi Salem, Algamdi Maaidah, Alshahrani Abdulaziz, Al Bakri Basil, Almasri Nihad
Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Tabuk, Tabuk 71491, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Physiotherapy, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Jordan, Amman 11942, Jordan.
Healthcare (Basel). 2023 Oct 7;11(19):2690. doi: 10.3390/healthcare11192690.
The recent emergence of research on cerebral palsy (CP) in developing countries aims to improve knowledge on affected children and the utilization of the available services. This study seeks to describe children with CP in Saudi Arabia and service utilization as per Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels and geographic regions. A cross-sectional survey of 227 children with CP (Mean age 6.3, SD 3.9 years) was conducted. Parents reported on children's demographics, impairments, and service utilization. Half of the children ( = 113, 49.8%) had ≥3 impairments with speech, visual and learning impairments being the most frequent. The total number of impairments differed significantly by GMFCS, (4, 218) = 8.87, < 0.001. Most of the children ( = 86, 83.4%) used 2-5 services. Moreover, 139 (62.3%) did not attend school, 147 (65.9%) did not receive occupational therapy, and only 32 (14.3%) received speech therapy. More children in GMFCS level I did not receive neurologist services. Profiles of children and services were described by GMFCS and by regions. This was the first study to describe children with CP and service utilization in Saudi Arabia. Although many impairments affected the children, there was low utilization of related services. Data on service utilization and on unmet needs support a comprehensive approach to rehabilitation and the proper service allocation.
发展中国家近期对脑瘫（CP）的研究不断涌现，旨在增进对患病儿童的了解以及提高现有服务的利用率。本研究旨在根据粗大运动功能分类系统（GMFCS）水平和地理区域，描述沙特阿拉伯的脑瘫儿童及其服务利用情况。对227名脑瘫儿童（平均年龄6.3岁，标准差3.9岁）进行了横断面调查。家长报告了孩子的人口统计学信息、损伤情况和服务利用情况。一半的儿童（n = 113，49.8%）有≥3种损伤，言语、视觉和学习损伤最为常见。损伤总数在GMFCS水平上有显著差异，F(4, 218) = 8.87，p < 0.001。大多数儿童（n = 86，83.4%）使用2 - 5种服务。此外，139名（62.3%）儿童未上学，147名（65.9%）未接受职业治疗，只有32名（14.3%）接受了言语治疗。GMFCS I级的更多儿童未接受神经科医生服务。按GMFCS水平和地区描述了儿童和服务的概况。这是第一项描述沙特阿拉伯脑瘫儿童及其服务利用情况的研究。尽管许多损伤影响了儿童，但相关服务的利用率较低。服务利用和未满足需求的数据支持采用综合康复方法和合理分配服务。
