Condition-specific instruments to measure the quality of life (QoL) of children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP)

Abstract

Introduction Cerebral palsy (CP) is the leading cause of physical disability in children. Defined as “a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture”, CP occurs in approximately 2 to 2.5 per 1,000 live births. In recent years, the concept of good health has moved from the “absence of disease” to a more positive concept, which embraces quality of life (QoL). QoL is a multi-dimensional construct including both health (i.e., physical health, emotional health, social health) and nonhealth domains (i.e., finances, school, autonomy). In pediatrics and child health, there is growing awareness that mortality and morbidity are not the only important outcome variables to be ..