The quality of children's life with motor disabilities in Greece

Introduction: Families with children with motor disabilities are called upon to face a variety of problems from day to day child care, treatment, child education, social inclusion and, most importantly, their independence. Tackling the problems children with motor disabilities face is the ultimate goal of improving their quality of life. Improving the quality of life requires the protection of public health, as there is no social and economic progress without the involvement of the 'health' factor. Health researchers argue that there is a correlation between living standards and health. Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the quality of life of children with motor disabilities in Greece up to the age of adulthood, through the parents' opinion. Parents' reactions to their child's initial diagnosis were also studied and recorded. Method: The study involved 37 parents of children with motor disabilities. The research was conducted in Thessaloniki at the Neuro Physio Kids Physiotherapy Center Konstantinou Karamanlis 60 Thessaloniki. Results: The living standard of children with motor disabilities in Greece is characterized by 57% of parents as 'bad', 30% 'average', 10% 'good' and only 1 person responds 'excellent'. The results show that parents have been affected by their child's disability in various aspects of their daily lives, such as social and family relationships, financial status and individual well-being. Conclusion: In our sample, parents / guardians of children with motor disorders in the majority respond that the standard of living for children with motor disabilities in Greece is low. Further research on a larger number of parents / guardians of children with motor disorders is recommended.