JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a common motor disability in children, and it refers to a group of disorders that affect a child’s ability to move, maintain balance and posture. Children with CP-related motor disorders experience disturbances of sensation, perception, cognition, communication, and behaviour, that are due to epilepsy. They may also have secondary musculoskeletal problems. Interprofessional team is needed to manage CP. However, in KwaZulu-Natal, rehabilitation services are fragmented, with departments working in isolation. Thus, there is a need to develop an interprofessional model of care responsive to the needs of those involved in the care of children with cerebral palsy (CWCP).

Objective:

To propose an evidence-based interprofessional model of care responsive to the needs of children with cerebral palsy in KwaZulu-Natal.

Methods:

This study will employ a phased sequential multi-method approach, with Phases 1, 2 and 3 having two, three and three objectives, respectively. Phase one (Objectives 1-2) will be conducted through a systematic scoping review to map the current evidence on the interprofessional rehabilitation practices utilized in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to manage CP, complemented with in-depth interviews (IDIs) on how Health Care Practitioners (HCPs) in KwaZulu-Natal manage children with CP. Using IDIs, FGDs and survey questionnaires, Phase two (Objectives 3- 5) will focus on exploring caregivers’ perspectives on the rehabilitation of children with CP, their lived caregiving experiences, and determine the level of caregiver burden. Phase three will use phases one and two results to propose and validate a model of care through a Delphi technique. The study has obtained ethics approval and gatekeeper permission from the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Biomedical Research Ethics Committee and the Provincial Department of Health, respectively.

Results:

Results of this study will be disseminated through publications in peer-reviewed journals, conference presentations and the thesis archived in the University’s library repository.

Conclusions:

This study is anticipated to provide an evidence-based interprofessional model of care responsive to the needs of children with CP, given that models used in high-income countries may not be appropriate for Low- and Middle- Income Countries’ contexts.