Social profile of children and teens with cerebral palsy in a physical rehabilitation center

Abstract

It is necessary to understand the changes in the lives of people with Cerebral Palsy (CP) in order to develop rehabilitation programs and health actions for their performance and participation in the various activities of daily living. Cerebral palsy is the most common cause of severe disability in infancy. It affects about two in every thousand live births worldwide, while in developing countries it is estimated at seven in every thousand live births. Objective: To get to know the socioeconomic and demographic universes of children with cerebral palsy in São Paulo/SP. Methodology: This is a quantitative, qualitative, and descriptive study on patients with a clinical and functional diagnosis of cerebral palsy who were active in rehabilitation programs during the year 2014 in the city of São Paulo/SP, between 0 and 18 years of age, and of both sexes. Results: Twenty-five patients participated in the study. The survey revealed that 52% (13) of patients were female, aged 6-15 years. In the economic sphere, 80% (20) of patients were on welfare, which is the main source of income for 40% (10) of the families. Twenty-two of the patients (88%) live in nuclear families formed by couples. The second largest proportion 20% (5) was for singleparent families headed by women. As regards the participation of the father in the treatment, 56% (14) of the cases had parental involvement, of which 91% (22) live with family income under 2 minimum salary a month. In eleven of the families (44%) there is no paternal involvement. Fourteen of these families 57% (14) live with a family income of under 1 minimum salary a month and have different family arrangements. The survey results show that 1 in every 4 patients did not attend school. As for housing, 18 patients (72%) did not have their own home and 80% (20) did not have wheelchair access. Conclusion: Getting to know the environment in which people live with disabilities is extremely important, since it can positively or negatively influence the experience of health and disease. The family dynamism and teamwork commitment in the rehabilitation process can contribute favorably to everyone’s well-being and the social inclusion of children with CP, as well as assisting in the formulation of public policies