Impaired sit-to-stand is perceived by caregivers to affect mobility and self-care in children with cerebral palsy who had moderate to severe mobility limitations: A mixed methods analysis

Objective: To explore the effects that impaired ability to sit-to-stand has on upright mobility and self-care in children with cerebral palsy and how this in turn may affect their caregivers.

Methods: A mixed methods research design was conducted with 25 children who had cerebral palsy with moderate to high mobility limitations (GMFCS levels III and IV) and their caregivers. Caregivers were interviewed about their child's mobility and self-care. The independence of each child's activities was rated using the mobility and self-care domains of the Functional Independence Measure for Children (WeeFIM).

Results: Two themes were identified from qualitative analyses: Difficulty in sit-to-stand was perceived by caregivers to reduce their child's ability to independently and safely perform mobility and some self-care tasks; and negatively impacted the caregivers physically and psychologically. Mobility and self-care WeeFIM scores showed that these children required moderate assistance, and that self-care tasks involving sit-to-stand (toileting and bathing) required more assistance than self-care tasks that would not be expected to involve sit-to-stand (eating and grooming). Qualitative and quantitative findings were convergent.

Conclusions: The ability to sit-to-stand independently may be an important precursor skill for independence in upright mobility and self-care for children with moderate to severe mobility limitations.