The cost-effectiveness of various rehabilitation patterns for children with cerebral palsy / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To analyze the economic effects of different rehabilitation patterns for children suffering from cerebral palsy. Methods A total of 153 cerebral palsy patients were divided into a hospital-community-family rehabilitation group(n = 52), a hospital rehabilitation group (n = 50) and a non-intervention control group (n = 51). Those in the first group were provided with a hospital-community-family rehabilitation therapy pattern, those in the sec-ond only hospital rehabilitation and the third no intervention. All the patients were evaluated using the Gross Motor Function Measure-88 (GMFM-88) Scale and the Cost Measure Scale at admission, and at the end of the 3rd and 6th months of treatment. Results There were no significant differences in gross motor function among the three groups at admission. At the end of the 3rd month and the 6th month there were significant differences between the children in the hospital-community-family rehabilitation program and those in the hospital rehabilitation program in terms of gross motor function. Their general percentage, monthly percentage and monthly relative percentage results were all significantly different. But there was no significant difference in the non-interventian control group since admission. Every unit of improvement in gross motor function cost $101.87±97.59, $75.11±45.75 in the hospital-community-family reha-bilitation program and $387.21±54.76, $170.31±123.16 in the hospital rehabilitation program at the end of the 3rd and the 6th month respectively. So the cost of the former was only about 30% of the latter. Conclusion Hospital rehabilitation is suitable for the early rehabilitation of cerebral palsy children. Hospital-community-family rehabilitation is better for long-term rehabilitation of cerebral palsy children, and what is more, it can decrease the rehabilitation ther-apy cost substantially. So a hospital-community-family rehabilitation pattern is more compatible with China's national situation.