Describing healthcare concerns of adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy

Aim: To identify healthcare concerns of adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy (CP) followed in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program and identify patient factors associated with the number of concerns raised. Method: A retrospective chart review of initial consultations of 241 people with...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Christina M. Winger, Caitlin Cassidy, Jessica Starowicz, Laura Brunton
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-01-01
Series:Health Care Transitions
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949923223000235
Description
Summary:Aim: To identify healthcare concerns of adolescents and adults with cerebral palsy (CP) followed in a multidisciplinary rehabilitation program and identify patient factors associated with the number of concerns raised. Method: A retrospective chart review of initial consultations of 241 people with CP (53 % male) aged 14 years or older (mean 27 y 5mo, SD 13 y 2mo), over a three-year period. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize data and explore associations. Poisson’s regression was used to predict healthcare concerns from patient demographic factors. Results: A total of 2237 distinct concerns were raised by the participants, with a median of 9 (range 1–34) concerns per person. Ten healthcare concern categories were reported by more than 25 % of the sample. Only age was associated with the number of healthcare concerns (r = 0.25, p < 0.001). Age and GMFCS significantly predicted total number of healthcare concerns. Interpretation: Adolescents and adults with CP reported a high number of healthcare concerns at the initial visit to the Transitional and Lifelong Care program and the number of concerns may increase with advancing age. The concerns identified span a variety of biopsychosocial spheres and supports the need for ongoing specialty and multidisciplinary care of this population through their adult years.
ISSN:2949-9232