Abstract
Impact of Socioeconomic Status on the Outcome of Physical Therapy in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy
Author(s): Zeinab Ahmed Hussein*, Noura Abou El Fotouh Abed El Fatah, Marwa Mahmoud Mahfouz Mahmoud, Doaa Tammam Atia and Doaa Tammam AtiaBackground: The development of motor functions in children with cerebral palsy is the outcome of several interacting and relating factors, including types of interventions (medical, physical, or surgical), child characteristics, and socializing agents.
Aim of the study: To evaluate the effect of childhood socioeconomic status on the development of gross motor function after physical therapy intervention in children with spastic cerebral palsy
Methods: A cross-sectional study on eighty children (44 boys, 36 girls) with spastic cerebral palsy aged 3.11 ± 0.88 years old. The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) and Socio Economic Scale (SES) were used to evaluate the severity of cerebral palsy and selected children's socioeconomic status, respectively. The Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM-88) was measured twice times with an interval of six months of physical therapy intervention.
Results: The middle and high socioeconomic classes of children with mild and moderate cerebral palsy showed a significant increase in median values of gross motor function compared with the low class. While there is no significant difference in median values of gross motor function according to socioeconomic classes in children with severe cerebral palsy.
Conclusion: The socioeconomic status may enhance the gross motor functions in children with mild and moderate spastic cerebral palsy after physical therapy interventions