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Quality of life in children with cerebral palsy: implications for practice
Kim-Michelle Gilson1, Elise Davis2, Dinah Reddihough3
1The Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, Academic Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia kgilson@unimelb.edu.au.
Insights
Assessing quality of life in children with cerebral palsy (CP) is vital for care planning and interventions. This review highlights recent evidence, determinants, and the CP-QOL-Child measure for better clinical outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Quality of Life Research
Background:
- Quality of life (QOL) assessment is critical for children with cerebral palsy (CP) to guide care and policy.
- Understanding QOL determinants and its role as an outcome indicator in clinical trials is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent evidence on QOL in children with CP.
- To discuss advancements in QOL measurement, focusing on condition-specific tools.
- To provide guidance for clinicians and researchers using QOL measures in CP.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of recent evidence on QOL in children with CP.
- Focus on condition-specific QOL measures, including the Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life-Child (CP-QOL-Child).
- Analysis of QOL as an outcome indicator in clinical trials.
Main Results:
- Recent evidence on QOL in children with CP has been reviewed.
- The CP-QOL-Child is identified as the first condition-specific QOL measure for this population.
- The role of QOL as a practical outcome indicator is discussed.
Conclusions:
- Effective QOL assessment is crucial for optimizing care for children with CP.
- The CP-QOL-Child offers a valuable tool for condition-specific QOL measurement.
- Future research should focus on refining QOL measures to better inform clinical practice.
Abstract:
The ability to assess the quality of life of children with cerebral palsy to inform and evaluate individual care plans, service planning, interventions, and policies is crucial. In this article, the recent evidence on quality of life in children with cerebral palsy is reviewed, with attention to the determinants of quality of life and role of this construct as a practical outcome indicator in clinical trials. Quality of life measurement advances for children with cerebral palsy are discussed with a focus on condition-specific quality of life measures, particularly, the Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life-Child, which is the first condition-specific quality of life measure for children with cerebral palsy. The article presents an overview for clinicians and researchers intending to use quality of life measures on children with cerebral palsy and provides recommendations for future research that will better inform practice in the field.
