The Effect of a designed- supportive program on mental health of mothers of children with cerebral palsy

The challenges experienced by mothers of children with cerebral palsy usually are multiple and ongoing. These challenges affect the mental health of mothers. Thus they need to be supported with supportive programs. This study was carried out to determine the effect of a designed- supportive program on mental health of mothers who have children with cerebral palsy. In this quasi-experimental study 60 mothers who had children with cerebral palsy were firstly selected by convenience sampling method and then allocated to two groups of experimental (n=30) and control (n=30). Data collection tools included the demographic and General Health Questionnaires (GHQ-12). Designed supportive program was implemented for experimental group through three steps including assessment of needs، giving support and evaluation. Data were analyzed with SPSS software Version 16 using Chi-square، t student and paired t-test. Chi-square showed no significant difference in terms of demographic variables between two groups. Independent t-test showed that there is a significant difference between two groups in relation to mean scores of mental health after intervention (P<0. 001). Based on Paired t-test there was a significant difference between mean scores of mental health before and after intervention in experimental group (P<0. 001)، but this difference was not seen in control group. According to the findings، applying a designed- supportive program could affect positively the mental health status of the mothers who had children with cerebral palsy. So it is suggested that designed- supportive programs to be applied as an effective method to promote mental health of mothers of children with cerebral palsy.