Abstract
Purpose
Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are at risk of cognitive impairments and need to be cognitively assessed to allow for individualized interventions, if applicable. Therefore, a systematic protocol for the follow-up of cognition in children with CP, CPCog, with assessments offered at five/six and 12/13 years of age, was developed. This report presents and discusses assessment practices in Sweden and Norway following the introduction of CPCog and a quality improvement project in Norway aimed at increasing the number of children offered cognitive assessments.
Materials and methods
A questionnaire investigating assessment practices was sent to pediatric habilitation centers in Sweden and Norway. In Norway, the habilitation centers also participated in a quality improvement project aimed at increasing adherence to the CPCog protocol.
Results
Of the respondents, 64–70% report that they assess cognition in children with all degrees of motor impairment, and 70–80% assess at the ages recommended in CPCog. Following the quality improvement project in Norway, the percentage of children assessed increased from 34 to 62%.
Conclusions
The findings illustrate that the provision of information is not sufficient to change practice. Implementation of new re/habilitation procedures is aided by targeting health care practices individually.