Rehabilitation status of children with cerebral palsy and anxiety of their caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study is to explore the rehabilitation status of children with cerebral palsy (CP) and anxiety level of their caregivers during the Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: Caregivers of children with CP who were being followed up in our outpatient CP clinic were contacted between May 28 and June 26, 2020. Two hundred and six caregivers who voluntarily agreed to participate were administered the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and were questioned about the rehabilitation status of their children. Demographic data, other health problems, Gross Motor Function Classification System, and Manual Ability Classification System levels of children were recorded from their files. RESULTS: All children were at home with their families during the pandemic. Their mean age was 9.58±3.84 years. One hundred and ninety-nine children were going to the rehabilitation center before the pandemic, only three children went to the rehabilitation center twice a week during the pandemic period. The anxiety level of all the caregivers was found to be high. Trait anxiety of the caregivers who did not perform home exercise to their children were found to be statistically significantly higher than those who performed exercise (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Rehabilitation strategies should focus on reducing anxiety level in caregivers of children with CP and effective homecare therapy techniques should be acquired by the caregivers.