Introduction:

Cerebral palsy is an irreversible neurological condition. It is described as a group of posture and movement disorders caused by injury to the immature brain; it is not progressive and may be associated with perceptual, sensory, communication, or behavioral problems. The experience of care creates significant changes both in family life and in the social structures in which they live together.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to know the perception of burden in caregivers of severely compromised adolescents with cerebral palsy, spastic in their greater proportion, based on sociodemographic and clinical aspects.

Materials and methods:

Cross-sectional quantitative study. Two questionnaires with sociodemographic and clinical information were applied in which the Gross Motor Function Classification was used to 60 adolescents with cerebral palsy and the Zarit Burden Scale to their caregivers.

Results:

55% of the patients were male. The mean age was 16 years, 70% were quadriparetic and 75% spastic. 48% of caregivers perceived intense overload. It was also found that the socioeconomic status has a statistically significant negative relationship with the level of perceived burden (p=0.0262). 45% of caregivers perceive that due to the time they spend with their relative, they do not have enough time for themselves.

Conclusions:

Caregivers perceive high dependency on the part of the patients and insufficient economic resources for care; Additionally, they report that their family situation or interpersonal relationships are not affected by the care.

        · abstract in Spanish     · text in English | Spanish     · English ( pdf ) | Spanish ( pdf )