Comparative quality of life among parents of children with cerebral palsy and those with other neurological conditions

BACKGROUND: Parenting a child with cerebral palsy (CP) may differ between a mother and a father. Research comparing the quality of life (QoL) between mothers and fathers of children with CP is sparse. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the QoL of mothers and fathers of children with CP and the QoL of parents of children with other neurological conditions METHODS: A total of 168 participants were recruited into this study using the consecutive sampling technique. Parents’ QoL was assessed with the World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF, and the functional ability of children with CP was assessed via the Gross Motor Function Classification System Expanded and Revised. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the QoL between parents of children with CP and parents of children with other neurological conditions. The association between the functional ability of children with CP and the QoL of their parents was analysed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient at α ≤ 0.05. RESULTS: A comparison between the QoL of fathers and mothers of children with CP revealed a statistically significant difference (p≤0.01; p=0.01) in the physical health and psychological domains, respectively, with mothers having higher QoL in these domains. No correlation was found between the functional ability of children with CP and the QoL of their fathers or mothers. CONCLUSION: The outcome of this study suggests that mothers of children with CP have a better QoL in the physical and psychological domains than do fathers of children with CP.