Exploring the quality of life of adolescents with Cerebral Palsy participating in conductive education around the Pannonian Basin

Abstract

Introduction: Quality of life (QoL) is a concept that includes physical, psychological, social, spiritual, and other domains of functioning. Good QoL is a fundamental goal of treatment for Cerebral Palsy (CP), therefore it is an outstanding goal of Conductive Education (CE) as well. CE is a Hungarian method that combines special education and rehabilitation for people living with CP.

Objective: We aimed to compare the opinions and views about the life of teenagers from the perspective of adolescents and their caregivers from different socio-cultural backgrounds.

Method: It was a descriptive, cross-sectional study. We used the Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life for the adolescent questionnaire (CP QoL -Teen) to measure QoL, which was translated into Hungarian and validated by Semmelweis University in 2017. Our study included 20 young adolescents (mean age 16) with CP and their caregivers living in Hungary (n1 = 40) and 20 Hungarian-speaking families (n2 = 40) from surrounding countries: Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine (mean age 14.5). All the families are participating in CE.

Results: There was no significant divergence in the whole QoL score between the groups. Nonetheless, we found an outstanding difference in the Hungarian groups' 'Feelings about functioning' domain between teens and caregivers. A significant proportion of Hungarian teens-although living with greater pain-are less concerned about their illness (R = -0.754). 85% of responders study at segregated schools offering CE.

Conclusion: The study shed new light on the importance of a personalized form of education and on the weight of the positive effects of segregated education. Personalized education can develop the patients' QoL.