Time Use in Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Comparison Study

Objectives

The main goal of this study was to measure time spent in different activities by mothers who have children with cerebral palsy (CP), in comparison to mothers of healthy children.

Methods

This study features a descriptive, cross-sectional and matched case control design. Sixty-seven mothers aged between 25 and 50 years based on inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected. The prototype of the Farsi translation of the Mothers' Time Use Questionnaire was used to measure the time allocations for different activities in both groups.

Results

Mothers of children with CP spent more time in childcare activities and had a lower level of “satisfaction” in comparison with mothers who have healthy children (p < .05). There were no significant differences in other subtype activities between both groups, namely, paid work, leisure, household chores, and sleeping/resting (p > .05).

Conclusion

There was an imbalance over time use between childcare activities and other subtype activities in mothers who have children with CP as compared to mothers with healthy children. Mothers with children who have CP require more attention, support, and special assistance from the government to meet their specific roles as mothers.