Comparative quality of life of Nigerian caregivers of children with cerebral palsy

Background: Information on how caring for children with cerebral palsy (CP) affects Nigerian caregivers' quality of life (QoL) is scarce. The QoL of Nigerian caregivers for children with cerebral palsy (CGCP) was compared with that of their age-matched counterparts with similar socioeconomic backgrounds who were caring for normally developing children, who made up the control group (CG). Motor function of the children with CP was also correlated with the QoL of their caregivers. Methods: Participants in this longitudinal study were 312 people comprising 107 CCP, 107 CGCP and 98 CG. The QoL was assessed at baseline and at the second, fifth and eighth month using the 26–item World Health Organization Quality of Life-Bref (WHOQoL-Bref) questionnaire. Motor function performance of the children with CP was assessed at the same intervals using the Gross Motor Function Measure (GMFM). Findings: Most of the CGCP and CG (82.3% and 93.8% respectively) were mothers of the children. At every point of assessment, the CGCP recorded significantly lower WHOQoL-Bref scores. Significant improvement in the GMFM score of the children with CP was observed during the study. The WHOQoL-Bref scores in CGCP correlated significantly with the GMFM scores of children with CP (P&lt;0.05) at the fifth and eighth month. Conclusion: People caring for children with CP have a lower quality of life than their counterparts caring for normally developing children. </jats:sec