Research On Uncertainty In Illness And Its Influencing Factors In Parents Of Children With Cerebral Palsy

Objectives:The study aimed to develop the Chinese version of Parents’ Perception Uncer-tainty in Illness Scale(PPUS), evaluate uncertainty in illness in parents of childrenwith cerebral palsy,analyse its influencing factors, and provide a reference for nursingintervention.Methods:According to Brislin’s Translation Model, the English version of PPUS wastranslated into Chinese. From June to December2012,180parents of children withcerebral palsy from the pediatric rehabilitation centers in two tertiary hospitals ofChangchun City were collected by purposive sampling.Three structured questionarieswere used for data collection, which included demographic variables, the Chineseversion of PPUS, and the Chinese version of Coping Health Inventory for Parents.EpiData3.0was used to manage data,and SPSS13.0was used to analyse data. Contentvalidity,Cronbach ɑ coefficient,and Spearman-Brown split-half reliability were usedto test the validity and reliability of the Chinese version of PPUS. Mean, standarddeviation, frequency, and percentage were applied to statistical description.T test,one-way analysis of variance, pearson correlation analysis, and multiple stepwiseregression analysis were used to statistical inference.Results:1.The Scale-lever Content Validity Index of the scale was0.90,and the Item-leverContent Validity Indexes of the scale were ranged from0.83to1.00. The Cronbach ɑcoefficient of the scale was0.93, and the Cronbach ɑ coefficient of four subscaleswere ranged from0.76to0.86.The Spearman-Brown split-half reliability of the scalewas0.91,and the Spearman-Brown split-half reliability of four subscales were rangedfrom0.75to0.86.2.The overall score of uncertainty in illness in parents of children with cerebral palsy was87.85±16.41.Among four subscales,“Ambiguity”and“Unpredictability” gotthe higher average scores, followed by “Lack of clarity”,“Lack of information” gotthe lowest average score.The parents of children with cerebral palsy with high level ofuncertainty in illness accounted for1.70%, with moderate level of uncertainty inillness accounted for77.20%, and with low level of uncertainty in illness accountedfor21.10%.3.There were significant differences in the overall score of uncertainty in illnessand the average scores of four subscales in parents of children with cerebral palsy interms of education level, working condition, family per capita income, place of reside-nce, treatment time,and family history of CP(P<0.05).4.There were significant negative correlations between the overall score of unce-rtainty in illness and the overall scores of positive coping style as well as their subs-cales in parents of children with cerebral palsy (P<0.05).5.Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that “usage frequency of positivecoping style”and “family history of CP” were entered model of uncertainty in illnessin parents of children with cerebral palsy.Conclusions:1.The Chinese version of PPUS with simple scoring method had appropriatenumber of items, and good validity and reliability, which content was easy to underst-and.It could be used to evaluate uncertainty in illness in parents of children withcerebral palsy in China.2.All the parents of children with cerebral palsy experienced uncertainty inillness, and uncertainty in illness of most parents was at moderate level.3.The influencing factors of uncertainty in illness in parents of children withcerebral palsy included education level, working condition, family per capita income,place of residence, treatment time, family history of CP, and coping style.