Dr Ebenezer Badoe, a Neuro-Peadiatrician at the Korle-Bu
Teaching Hospital has reiterated the need to implement a multidisciplinary
working method in managing cerebral palsy patients
He explained that cerebral palsy patients may have different
issues that will require the various professionals to handle and thus promote
better understanding of the condition among health workers.
Cerebral Palsy is a non-progressive neurological disorder
caused by brain injury or malformation while the child’s brain is developing.
It affects body movement, muscle control, muscle coordination, and sometimes
the speech of the child.
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| Master Gabriel Narh, sharing his experience with the forum |
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The condition thus require the expertise of specialists
including a neurologist, a physiotherapist, a speech and occupational
therapist, orthotics, nutritionists or dietician, a peadiatrician among others
for efficient management.
Dr Badoe said this at a forum to disseminate the findings of
a two-year research that sought to evaluate the impact of a community-based
parent training programme for children with cerebral palsy in Ghana.
The research is a partnership between the International
Centre for Evidence in Disability (ICED) at the London School of Hygiene and
Tropical Medicine in collaboration with CBM, the School of Biomedical and
Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, the University of Ghana and
the Health Directorate of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
Dr Badoe also
acknowledged the absence of a proper communication strategy between health
professionals in general and parents of children with cerebral and said there
was a programme in place to train especially medical doctors in that regard.
“We are working to train all medical doctors in
communication, if you are a good doctor and cannot communicate properly with
your client then you are not that good,” he said.
The forum which brought together stakeholders working on
cerebral palsy also discussed the way forward to ensure efficient management
and the need to increase awareness on cerebral palsy.
Dr Isabella Sagoe-Moses, the National Child Health
Coordinator at the Ghana Health Service, said the service was working to ensure
that health professionals at the grass root get to know much about cerebral
palsy to enable them recognize the early signs.
Ms Maria Zuurmond, a research fellow at the ICED, at the
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said at the overall project
showed a significant improvement in quality of life measures for the caregiver.
She said: “Caregivers reported positively about small
changes in their child’s development and felt this gave them hope.
“We found that the knowledge about the child’s condition
improved significantly, which was particularly important given that most had
never received proper diagnoses about their child’s condition.”
Ms Zuurmond said there was some small improvement in access
to education but children were also likely to drop out of school unless they
had support and understanding from peers and teachers.
She pointed out that there was “excess” death of children
with cerebral palsy compared to the standard population
“In total, eight children died over a 12 month period, six
girls and two boys between identification in June 2015 and End line in June/July
2016. The standard mortality ratio is 14.61 for children between one and five
years, meaning the children are 14.61 times more likely to die than children in
standard population.
"of the 8 children, 5 children died in the first 3
months. All children had severe cerebral palsy, most were severely
malnourished, all were referred early in the programme for additional support
from local nutrition teams and hospitals. Most children came of the poorest families in
Ghana. Stigma and traditional beliefs influence care of the child and was a
barrier to seeking treatment. This really highlights the importance of early
intervention and counseling and additional support for family," Ms Zuurmond explained
Some beneficiaries of the project who shared their
experiences testified that it has been very beneficial to them and their
children and called for more of such programmes and support.
Master Gabriel Narh, a 13 year old boy with cerebral palsy,
also a beneficiary of the project, said he started school only about 18 months
ago after he join the project.
“Before then, I wasn’t going to school, she thought I could
not do anything with my life and I also thought same but now through the
project I have hope that I can do something with my life.”
Mrs Hannah Awadzi, Initiator of the Special Mothers Project,
a project that advocate and create awareness on cerebral palsy, said the lack
of coordination among health professionals and sometimes the lack of
understanding of the condition by some health professionals put parents under
intense stress.
Some participants at the forum expressed concern about the
lack of assistive devices in Ghana, the lack of awareness about cerebral palsy
and the lack of social support that make many families with cerebral palsy
children go through intense stress.
They called on government, corporate organizations and
individuals to support programmes that advocate for cerebral palsy issues in
Ghana.
