Factors associated with Adherence to Physiotherapy appointments among Caregivers of children with Cerebral palsy in Jigawa state

Abstract

Non-adherence to physiotherapy appointment is one of the most crucial issue that makes the rehabilitation very difficult for children with cerebral  palsy (CP) . The aim of the study is to find out the factors associated with adherence to physiotherapy appointment among caregivers of children  with cerebral palsy in Jigawa state. Hundred (100) caregivers were recruited from Rasheed Shekoni Specialist hospital (RSSH), Hadejia General  hospital(HGH), Dutse General hospital (DGH) and Federal Medical Centre Birnin kudu (FMCB) all in Jigawa state,using purposive sampling technique.  However, only 80 participants were eligibly enrolled in to this cros-sectional study. Questionnaires were the major instruments used to obtain the  data, however, verbal communication with the caregivers was done where necessary. Socio-economic level was determined using Kuppuswasmi's  scale. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the results. Inferential statistics of Chi-squares at 5% level of significance, was employed to  determine the associations between pairs of categorical variables. Level of education, cost of transportation,knowledge of the condition, length of  time since onset,beliefs in traditional medicine,waiting time for treatment and socioeconomic class of the caregivers were found to significantly  associate with the adherence (P-value <0.05), while age of the caregivers was found to have no significant association with their adherence to  physiotherapy appointment (P-value>0.05). It was found that the most predominant type of CP was spastic quadriplegia,the commonest aetiological  factor was birth asphyxia and the commonest co-morbid factors were speech problem and mental retardation.