Measuring Outcomes in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Abstract

Cerebral palsy (CP) defines a group of conditions, arising from an injury to the developing brain. This injury results in disturbances of movement and posture, affecting balance, gait, and communication. Reduced activity levels and participation restrictions due to the above impairments may lead to decreased health-related quality of life (HRQOL), compared to unaffected peers. Increasingly, research and clinical practice is focused on interventions not only to improve biomechanical alignment or functional outcomes for children with CP but also to improve HRQOL. Clinicians need to utilize outcome measures that accurately assess HRQOL in children with CP to provide evidence that their interventions and management strategies are positively influencing HRQOL, activity and participation. Outcome measures must be valid, reliable, and responsive to change. No single measure covers all domains relevant to children with CP; therefore, a range of measures is required to assess a child with CP comprehensively. Each outcome tool has specific performance characteristics, some of which are better suited for clinical use and others for research. The purpose of this chapter is to review the most common functional and HRQOL outcomes measures for children with CP to aid providers in their daily practice