İnvestigation of the awareness of the parents of the children with cerebral palsy about disease physiotherapy and rehabilitation

The aim of this study was to examine the awareness of parents who provide primary care to children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) about the disease, physiotherapy and rehabilitation. Parents (n=78) of children with the aged of 4-18 years diagnosed CP, were included in the study. Cerebral Palsy Disease, Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Awareness Evaluation Form was used to determine the level of awareness. IBM SPSS 24 package program was used for statistical analysis of the data. Chi-square test was used to compare categorical variables. As a result of the analysis, it was found that the majority of the participants were mothers (85.9%). According to the results of the survey, parents' general awareness levels were found to be low (5.17%), medium (56.41%) and high (38.46%). Awareness levels of the participants were found to be similar according to the education level and economic status of the parents (p>0.05). In addition, there was no difference between the awareness levels of the participants according to the surgical status, age distribution and gross motor function levels of the children with CP (p>0.05). As a result, it was determined that the awareness levels of parents with children with CP about the disease, physiotherapy and rehabilitation were generally at medium and high awareness levels.