Parents’ Perceptions of Needs for Themselves and Their Children in a Cerebral Palsy Clinic

Children with cerebral palsy and their families encounter numerous problems, needs, and concerns that are within the realm of nursing care. This study documents needs perceived by parents as indicated on a questionnaire. Data collection took place in the waiting area of an outpatient cerebral palsy clinic in a large pediatric referral hospital. Questionnaires were administered to a convenience sample of 203 parents over a 6-month period. Parents responded to the statement, “It would help me/my child to talk with a nurse about this.” Parents selected items from a list of 31 possible topics and identified topics of concern to themselves or to their child. As many as 78 percent of parents identified one or more topics for themselves to discuss with a nurse, but only 34 percent of parents identified one or more topics for their child to discuss. A limitation of the study was that no data were collected documenting mental retardation or speech disorders, which could have accounted for the fewer number of topics identified for the child.The primary benefits of the study are two-fold: (1) Needs perceived by parents for themselves and their children were identified and prioritized. (2) Variables that are significantly related to number of needs were identified.