Caregiver’s awareness of functional difficulties faced by children with cerebral palsy in several selected rehabilitation centres in Sri Lanka

Introduction: Comprehensive lifelong care must be provided for children with cerebral palsy (CP) by the caregivers to prevent functional impairments and to improve the quality of life.
Objectives: To determine the awareness of caregivers about the functional difficulties in children with CP in several rehabilitation centres in Sri Lanka. 
Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done involving 86 caregivers of children with CP selected from several rehabilitation centres in Sri Lanka. Caregiver Priorities and Child Health Index of Life with Disabilities (CPCHILD) questionnaire and a general questionnaire were given to 86 caregivers of children belonging to the age range birth to 12 years. The study was conducted over a two-month period from October to November 2018.   Children were categorized according to the Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS). The data were entered and analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22. 
Results: There was no impact from the gender, age, educational level of the caregiver or the time spent on treatment by the caregiver on the awareness of functional difficulties faced by children with CP. The association between caregiver’s relationship to the child and the total score of the CPCHILD questionnaire as well as the association between the GMFCS level and the total score for the CPCHILD questionnaire were statistically significant.
Conclusions:  Awareness of functional difficulties among caregivers was not influenced by demographic factors like age, gender, or education, but was significantly linked to the severity of the child's condition (GMFCS level) and the caregiver's relationship to the child.