Facilitating and barring factors to the of mothers of children with cerebral palsy: a qualitative study

Introduction: Mothers play an important role in the daily life of their children with cerebral palsy (CP). In this regard, maternal well-being can have a profound effect on the healthiness of their children and also their families. Therefore, this study aimed to explore facilitating and barring factors to the healthiness of mothers of children with CP.

Methods: In this qualitative study which was conducted in Tehran a conventional qualitative content analysis was employed. Data were gathered from 25 individual interviews with 15 mothers of children with CP, 7 Iranian rehabilitation experts, a child with CP, an aunt of a child with CP and a father of a child with CP. The sampling technique used was the purposive sampling. The main sources of data were in-depth semi-structured interviews. Constant comparative analysis was employed for data analysis.

Results: Three categories emerged from the analysis of the data, including: characteristics of mother-child, other influential people on the healthiness; resources and environmental accessibility.

Conclusion: The results showed that key factors for maintaining mothers’ healthiness include: mother-child healthiness status, people having direct contact, resources and environmental accessibility.  These factors are suggested to be taken into consideration in providing health maintenance services.