Development and exploration of a Japanese version of the cerebral palsy quality of life for children questionnaire for primary caregivers: a pilot study.
Tomoko Mutoh, Tatsushi Mutoh, Hiromi Kurosaki and 2 others
PMID 31631945WHAT IT FOUND
Mothers' emotional well-being and feelings about functioning were lower as their child's GMFCS level increased.
The other domains did not differ by GMFCS level in a Japanese caregiver questionnaire completed by 50 mothers.
Key findings
01Fifty children with spastic bilateral cerebral palsy and their 50 mothers completed the Japanese caregiver questionnaire.
02The translated questionnaire showed consistent internal reliability across all domains, with Cronbach's alpha values between 0.72 and 0.89.
03Mothers' emotional well-being and feelings about functioning were lower as children's GMFCS level increased.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study included only 50 children and 50 mothers, so it is a small pilot. All respondents were mothers, so it does not show how fathers or other caregivers would answer. Participants came from health care, recreation, and rehabilitation facilities, so broader community backgrounds were not represented. All mothers had college-level education or higher, so results may not apply to caregivers with lower education. The study was cross-sectional, so it did not test whether the questionnaire gives the same results over time. Some service and equipment items had missing data because many children had not used specialized services or equipment. Children did not report their own quality of life.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The work was supported by grants from the Society of Physical Therapy Science and JSPS KAKENHI.
The easy way to misread this
Do not use this pilot as proof that the questionnaire is valid for all Japanese caregivers or that higher GMFCS level causes lower caregiver well-being. It involved 50 mothers from selected facilities, was cross-sectional, and only reported associations.