Targeted therapy program significantly improves mobility and daily living skills in cerebral palsy patients

<p>Aim</p><p>To evaluate the efficacy of the Akwenda Intervention Program on motor, self-care, and social function of children and young people with cerebral palsy (CP).</p><p>Method</p><p>This was a cluster-randomized, controlled, single-blinded, intervention study of 100 participants with CP (2–23 years; 52 males) in rural eastern Uganda. Half were allocated to the intervention program, the remainder served as waitlist controls. Gross Motor Function Measure-66 (GMFM-66) and the Ugandan version of Pediatric Evaluation of Disability Inventory (PEDI-UG) were collected before group allocation and after intervention. General linear models and <em>t</em>-tests were used to compare changes within and between groups. Cohen's <em>d</em> estimated the effect size of group differences. Change scores were evaluated by age and mobility subgroups.</p><p>Results</p><p>Significant group by time interactions were found for GMFM-66 (<em>p</em> =0.003) and PEDI-UG outcomes (<em>p</em> &lt;0.001), except mobility, with the intervention group demonstrating greater changes. Both groups increased their scores on the GMFM-66 and child PEDI-UG, while only the intervention group had significant increases in caregiver assistance scores and across all age and mobility subgroups. Cohen's <em>d</em> showed large effect sizes (<em>d</em> &gt;0.8) of differences for PEDI-UG outcomes except mobility.</p><p>Interpretation</p><p>The Akwenda Intervention Program had a large positive impact on functioning and activity across age and mobility levels.</p>