COVID-19 PANDEMİSİNİN SEREBRAL PALSİ’Lİ ÇOCUKLAR ÜZERİNE ETKİSİNİN İNCELENMESİ

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the sustainability of the treatment of children with cerebral palsy (CP) during the pandemic, the physical and psychosocial impact of the pandemic on children, and the fear of COVID-19 among parents. Materials and Methods: The authors' questionnaire and the COVID-19 fear scale were completed by 350 parents who were reachable and willing to participate in the study. Results: Of the 210 children who received an education, 46 (21.9%) could not participate in online education. 123 (63.4%) of 194 children who received cognitive education and 108 (78.8%) of 137 children who received physiotherapy could not continue. According to family reports, 26.3% of children had worse physical development, 21.1% had worse sleep quality, 11.7% had worse linguistic skills, and 39.1% of children had higher levels of anxiety than before the pandemic. The mean COVID-19 fear scale score of the parents who stated that their child's physical development was worse compared to before the pandemic (18.23±5.63) was higher than that of the parents who stated that there was no change in their child's physical development (16.91±5.26) (p=0.031). The mean COVID-19 fear scale score of the parents who stated that their child's anxiety was higher than before the pandemic (18.02±5.49) was higher than the parents who stated that there was no change in their child's anxiety (16.81±5.28) (p=0.04). Conclusion: During the pandemic period, rehabilitation of children with CP was interrupted and children were affected physically and psychosocially. Family-centered approaches and telerehabilitation opportunities should be studied for future periods.