A Study to Assess the Knowledge on Cerebral Palsy Among the Mothers of Children with Cerebral Palsy at Agastheyar Muni Child Care Centre, Vellamadam, Kanyakumari District

Abstract

The present study was undertaken to assess the knowledge on cerebral palsy among the mothers of cerebral palsied children at Agastheyar Muni Child Care Centre, Vellamadam, Kanyakumari District. The aim of the study is: (1) To assess the knowledge of mothers regarding cerebral palsy. (2) To associate the knowledge of mothers on cerebral palsy with the selected demographic variable. Research approach: Quantitative research approach was used. Research design: Descriptive research design was chosen for this study. Setting of the study: Agastheyar Muni Child Care Centre, Vellamadam, Kanyakumari District. Sample size: The sample size of the study comprised 30 mothers with cerebral palsied children. Sampling method: Convenient sampling technique. Research tool and research technique: The tools consist of demographic variables and structured questionnaires, which were used to find out the knowledge on cerebral palsy among the mothers of cerebral palsied children. Part I: This section consists of the information on demographic variables such as age, sex, habitat, type of family, and marriage type. Part II: In this part, the structured questionnaires were used to find out the knowledge score regarding cerebral palsy. Totally, there were 20 questions; for correct answer, score 1 was given, for wrong answer, 0 was given. The subject was classified into their groups based on the knowledge score: Adequate 75–10, Moderate 50–74, Inadequate 0–49. Result: The majority (76.6%) of the mothers had moderate knowledge, 13.4% had inadequate knowledge, and 10% had adequate knowledge regarding cerebral palsy. The study revealed that there was a significant association between knowledge and demographic variables such as living community and background, P > 0.05.