A saúde mental dos cuidadores de crianças com paralisia cerebral

Abstract

Introduction: the diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP) is sometimes accom-panied by feelings that can trigger changes in the mental health of their care-givers due to expectations regarding the care and demands of the child. However, the repercussion of the diagnosis of CP in the family does not seem to be associated only with the child’s disability, but also with social, economic and personal aspects. Objectives: to assess the mental health of caregivers of children diagnosed with CP using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) and the caregivers’ narratives about the relationship between the child’s functional limitations and family biopsy-chosocial conditions and the psychological distress of these caregivers. Methodology: cross-sectional, quantitative and descriptive study carried out at CER 2. The convenience sample consisted of caregivers of children diagnosed with CP aged 2 to 10 years, in which mental health will be assessed using the SRQ. Re-sults: 15 caregivers, all mothers, participated in the following study. Of these, 9 answered 7 or more “yes” to the SRQ items, which indicates mental distress, and the 6 other participants scored less than 7. Conclusion:the mental health of mothers of children with CP is complex and composed by several variables, making it difficult to say whether they have worse mental health due to the diagnosis of their children. However, it is possible to state that the health quality of both influence each other, and due to this, the health care of children with cerebral palsy must be integral, including their family.