Perspectives on rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy: exploring a cross-cultural view of parents from India and Canada using the international classification of functioning, disability and health

Abstract

Canadian parents experience a more enabling environment and express a more social view of their child's health, suggesting both education on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health principles and services are needed to better enable and empower Indian parents. There remains a need for healthcare professionals and services in both countries to be more family-centered. Implications for rehabilitation To help parents in rehabilitating their children with cerebral palsy (CP), in India, there is a need to (1) incorporate ICF education into medical curricula and clinical practice; (2) increase the availability of skilled healthcare professionals and centers; (3) make infrastructural and policy reforms to make the society more accessible for the disabled children. Education, counseling and awareness about CP might help both groups of parents, society, and HCPs to change their beliefs and attitudes regarding CP and its rehabilitation. Both countries would benefit from user-friendly and transparent policies. This will help parents to become more aware of them and use them in the rehabilitation process.

Participation of children with disabilities in school: A realist systematic review of psychosocial and environmental factors

“…Competence mechanisms reflected “doing” or behavioral aspects and how children engaged in participation. Well-supported mechanisms enabling participation were children taking initiative, being proactive and acting on interests [14, 24, 44, 52, 53, 65–68] Research also demonstrated that seeking independence and autonomy, showing responsibility and commitment, displaying persistence and perseverance were drivers of participation [45, 47, 51–53, 57, 68–72].…”

Validation of the International Guide for Monitoring Child Development demonstrates good sensitivity and specificity in four diverse countries

“…Optimising early childhood development is now a United Nations Sustainable Development Goal, but major disparities exist in how this is addressed in health systems around the world . In high‐income countries, early identification of children with developmental difficulties is an integral component of child health care and children who are identified receive individualised, family‐centred and comprehensive early interventions . In contrast, child development is rarely addressed during health care in low‐income and middle‐income countries, and nonindividualised interventions involve promoting nurturing care .…”

“…In high‐income countries, early identification of children with developmental difficulties is an integral component of child health care and children who are identified receive individualised, family‐centred and comprehensive early interventions . In contrast, child development is rarely addressed during health care in low‐income and middle‐income countries, and nonindividualised interventions involve promoting nurturing care . While these universal strategies are crucial, complementary individualised approaches are also urgently needed to help close the unethical equity gap for children around the world .…”

Treatment and re/habilitation of children with cerebral palsy in India: a scoping review

“…26 In India, environmental factors like social attitudes, sociocultural beliefs, lack of knowledge among parents, limited availability of skilled health care professionals (HCPs) and resources, as well as infrastructural, transport, and financial barriers, have been found to affect treatment and participation among children and adolescents with CP. [28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40] Health care systems, literacy rates, use of the internet for health information, and the use of technology in rehabilitation differ significantly between resource-rich and resourcelimited countries. [41][42][43][44][45][46] All these factors might affect the generalizability of the literature from developed countries to developing countries.…”

“…Rehabilitation of neurological disorders is not a high priority in government policies . In India, environmental factors like social attitudes, sociocultural beliefs, lack of knowledge among parents, limited availability of skilled health care professionals (HCPs) and resources, as well as infrastructural, transport, and financial barriers, have been found to affect treatment and participation among children and adolescents with CP . Health care systems, literacy rates, use of the internet for health information, and the use of technology in rehabilitation differ significantly between resource‐rich and resource‐limited countries .…”