title: Quality of life in children with cerebral palsy: implications for practice.
abstract: The ability to assess the quality of life of children with cerebral palsy to inform and evaluate individual care plans, service planning, interventions, and policies is crucial. In this article, the recent evidence on quality of life in children with cerebral palsy is reviewed, with attention to the determinants of quality of life and role of this construct as a practical outcome indicator in clinical trials. Quality of life measurement advances for children with cerebral palsy are discussed with a focus on condition-specific quality of life measures, particularly, the Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life-Child, which is the first condition-specific quality of life measure for children with cerebral palsy. The article presents an overview for clinicians and researchers intending to use quality of life measures on children with cerebral palsy and provides recommendations for future research that will better inform practice in the field.
authors.affiliation: The Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, Academic Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia kgilson@unimelb.edu.au.
authors.forename: Kim-Michelle
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Gilson
authors.affiliation: The Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, Academic Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Elise
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental Medicine, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Dinah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Reddihough
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Kerr
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: The Jack Brockhoff Child Health and Wellbeing Program, Academic Centre for Health Equity, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne, Australia.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Waters
mesh_terms: D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Cerebral Palsy Quality of Life–Child; determinants; disability; measurement; outcome