Prevalence of Evidence Based Physiotherapy Interventions for Children with Cerebral Palsy in Colombo District, Sri Lanka: A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Cerebral Palsy (CP) is one of the common causes of childhood disability. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of evidence-based physiotherapy interventions for children with CP. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Physiotherapy Units of Lady Ridgeway hospital, Rheumatology, and rehabilitation hospital Ragama, and Colombo North teaching hospital. CP types were classified using the Gross motor function classification Scale (GMFCS), and the Evidence Alert traffic light system was used to select interventions and classify outcomes as Green (Do it), Yellow (Probably do it) and Red (Don’t do it). Observation methods and face to face interviews were used as the data collection methods. Data were analyzed using the Service Package of Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22.0. A hundred participants aged between birth to 12 years were selected to study. According to the findings, the highest demanded interventions in the population (Strength training- 93%, mobility training -91%, Goal directed training -80%) resulted in green outcomes. The outcomes of interventions distributed per single child as Green 40.22%, Yellow 56.94% and Red-2.84%. The majority of the sample belongs to the 4-6-year-old age range (62%), GMFCSE&R grades IV (27.7%) and, Spastic Diplegic (29.7%) CP type. There is no significant difference between intervention types applying to the different GMFCS levels, CP Types, and age ranges. There is a positive correlation between the distributions of GMFCSE&R and CP types (P=0.02, P<0.05). The most prominent distribution of yellow outcomes (56.94% per a single child) proved the median status of physiotherapy practice in three clinical settings.