Low Quality of Life and its Associated Risk Factors in Parents of Children with Cerebral Palsy in the Northwest of Iran; A Case Control Study

Abstract

Aim: Parenting a child with cerebral palsy (CP) presents multiple challenges. In this study we aim to compare the quality of life in parents of children with CP and parents of healthy children and its correlations with possible risk factors. Material and Method: Sixty-four parents of children with CP and 64 parents of healthy children matched for age and gender were recruited. Families were visited by researchers to administer the World Health Organization Quality of Life – short version (WHOQOL-BREF) and Duke University Religion Index (DUREL) questionnaires to parents. Also the motor function of the children with CP was evaluated according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). Results: Compared to parents of healthy children, parents of children with CP had significantly stronger religious beliefs and a lower score in overall quality of life and all its domains, except for the social subscale. There was a significant negative correlation between parents’ age and psychological domain, social domain, and overall quality of life. There was also a significant negative correlation between GMFCS level and the social and environmental health domains of quality of life. Families with higher income had a significantly higher score in social, environmental health, and overall quality of life, and environmental health was significantly higher in parents with higher education. Discussion: Parents of children with CP have lower quality of life than parents of healthy children; their quality of life was negatively correlated with their children’s disability, their education level, and family income. Although these parents had stronger religious beliefs, this was not correlated with the domains of quality of life.