Social Participation and Quality of Life in Adults with CP
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Social Participation and Quality of Life in Adults with Cerebral Palsy
IRAS ID
329629
Contact name
Mark Linden
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen's University Belfast
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 29 days
Research summary
Aim: This study seeks to understand how social participation and quality of life are impacted by the experience of impairment for adults with cerebral palsy (CP).
Rationale: CP is a complex condition and although medically described as non-progressive, the experience of living with CP changes as an individual grows up. Previous research has focused heavily on childhood and transition from child to adult health care, but few have explored the interrelationship of social participation and quality of life with adulthood.
Research Questions:
1. What are the specific ways that disability leads to differences in disabled adults’ social participation across key domains of employment, education, leisure, housing and romantic relationships, in comparison to non-disabled people?
2. Which environmental and social factors have positive or negative impacts on the social participation and quality of life of adults with cerebral palsy in NI?
3. How do impairments and personal environments interact to shape modes of social participation and quality of life?
4. How do social participation and quality of life change from childhood, through the transitions of adolescence and into early adulthood in NI?Methods: The research will take a quantitative approach to collect cross-sectional data from an age-specific cohort of adults with CP living in Northern Ireland and further data on a control group consisting of typically developing peers of those individuals matched for location, gender and age, through the use of a survey.
Funding: The study is funded by the Department for Economy and will fulfil the requirement for the research student's PhD.
REC name
HSC REC A
REC reference
23/NI/0120
Date of REC Opinion
25 Oct 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion