Mental wellbeing among children with cerebral palsy
Research type
Research Study
Full title
RELATE-CP: Researching mental health and wellbeing in young people with cerebral palsy
IRAS ID
328092
Contact name
Jennifer Ryan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
NA, NA
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 17 days
Research summary
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common cause of physical disability in childhood. Most people with CP live well into adulthood. Although CP primarily affects a person’s ability to sit or move, many people with CP report experiencing mental health problems. Children and adolescents with CP who experience mental health problems are more likely to develop mental health conditions like depression in adulthood. Although this may be prevented if children and adolescents receive support when they need it, young people with CP and their families often find it difficult to access appropriate support.
While there is some evidence internationally on mental health problems and risk factors associated with it among children and young people with CP, there is no information on mental health symptoms, mental disorders for children and adolescents in Ireland. The lack of data describing how many young people with CP in Ireland experience mental health problems makes it difficult for organisations to develop appropriate services and supports for them.
In this project, we will collect information to understand how prevalent mental health symptoms and mental disorders are among children and adolescents with CP in Ireland. We will also identify risk factors for poor mental health of poor mental health among young people with CP.
We will estimate how prevalent mental health symptoms and disorders are by asking 600 children and adolescents with CP to complete a survey. We will also ask them about factors that might be associated with mental health symptoms and conditions, such as age, gender and associated impairments.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
23/NS/0076
Date of REC Opinion
24 Jul 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion