Introduction: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common cause of disability in children.
Healthcare providers aim to facilitate optimal function and participation by working with
children and their families. The success of this endeavor depends on shared understanding,
collaboration, and contextual factors that affect resource availability. The aim of this thesis was
to understand parents’ perspectives in Indian and North American cultures towards management
of CP using an ICF lens, to evaluate the extent to which this lens is evident in literature
conducted in an Indian context and to evaluate a Knowledge Translation (KT) resource to inform
parents and healthcare professionals (HCP).
Methods: In the five thesis papers: study 1 explored parents’ perspectives towards the
management of their children with CP (qualitative design); study 2 described the contextual
factors shaping parents’ perspective in India (reflective design); study 3 and 4, described the
research trends in the management of CP in India (scoping review); and study 5 describes the
development and evaluation of a KT resource created to inform parents about incorporating the
ICFconcepts into management of CP.
Results: The qualitative study identified that Indian parents focus more on Body Structure and
Function (BSF) challenges and have more resource limitations, as compared to the Canadian
context. The scoping review identified that research also focuses on BSF, with less research
addressing activity and participation, or its environmental determinants. KT resources showing
the application of the ICF concepts into CP management received widespread uptake and were
perceived as helpful by parents and HCP.
Discussion and Conclusion: ICF was useful for understanding and informing parents and HCP
about management of CP. Despite the importance of environmental considerations and
contextual factors, these were insufficiently addressed in the literature and in stakeholder
perspectives. To optimize CP management across contexts, further research and KT is needed. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common cause of physical disability in children. Parents and
professionals from multiple disciplines work together to provide developmental support for
children with CP. This thesis explored parents’ views about management of CP in India and
Canada; assessed the scope of the scientific literature from India addressing CP; and developed
and evaluated educational videos to inform parents and professionals about the use of the
International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) in the management of
CP. Parents’ views towards their children in both countries are influenced by the availability of
resources, professional attitudes, and cultural beliefs. Research in India focuses on ‘fixing’ the
child’s impairments. The videos developed to encourage parents and doctors to focus on
increasing activity and participation in children, were judged to be useful in creating awareness about the use of the ICF in the management of CP.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/21564 |
Date | January 2017 |
Creators | Jindal, Pranay |
Contributors | MacDermid, Joy, Rehabilitation Science |
Source Sets | McMaster University |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Thesis |
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