Experience of Caregivers Caring for Children with Cerebral Palsy in Accessing Oral Health Care Services: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Maintaining oral health (OH) is a serious issue in children with cerebral palsy (CP) for their inability to perform effective OH care as well as for lack of accessibility to dental services. This study explored the experience of the caregivers on accessibility towards OH facilities for their children with CP in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. A purposive sampling technique was utilised. In-depth interviews using guided questions captured with audio-recorder were conducted on caregivers of children with CP. Verbatim transcription of the interviews were reviewed with field notes, and themes were developed using NVivo software. Ten caregivers of children with CP aged 32–64 years old participated, which were mostly from low socio-economic status and low level of education. The age of children with CP in this study were between nine to 18 years old. From the ten verbatim transcripts, five themes emerged which were dental experience, family support, mobility, ability to pay and social value. The caregivers experienced both demanding and unique challenges in acquiring OH care services for their children with CP according to their experiences in obtaining OH services in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Therefore, attentions are needed to address these problems that are hindering the access to OH facilities for children with CP.