Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Physical Therapy - Department of Growth and Development Disorders in Pediatrics

Background: The main outcome of physical therapy interventions is to improve motor functions of children with spastic cerebral palsy which result from the interactions between many factors not limited to physical, medical or surgical interventions but also including child characteristics and socializing agents. Purpose: To assess impact of family socioeconomic status on motor development of children with spastic cerebral palsy. Subjects and Methods: Eighty children with spastic cerebral palsy with ages ranged from 1 to 4 years participated in this study selected from governmental hospitals and private clinics in Mansoura city. They were divided based on severity into three groups: mild, moderate and severe according to Gross motor function classification system and each group subdivided according to socioeconomic class into low, middle and high based on Egyptian Socioeconomic Scale. They were evaluated before and after six months of physical therapy treatment using Gross motor function measure. Results: Analysis of results revealed that both middle and high socioeconomic subgroups in moderate cerebral palsy group showed significant increase in median values of gross motor function compared with low socioeconomic group, but in mild group only middle socioeconomic group showed significant increase in median values of gross motor function compared with low one, while children with severe cerebral palsy showed no significant difference in motor development in spite of the difference in socioeconomic class. Also, there was a strong positive correlation between socioeconomic status and gross motor function measure in moderate cerebral palsy cases while weak positive correlation was revealed between socioeconomic status and gross motor function measure in mild cases and very weak positive correlation in severe cases

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