Current Referral Practices for Diagnosis and Intervention for Children With Cerebral Palsy: A National Environmental Scan

Objectives: To describe current physician referral practices with respect to age at referral to medical specialists for initial diagnosis of cerebral palsy (CP) and rehabilitation specialists for intervention and to identify factors associated with delayed referral.

Study Design: National environmental scan of 455 children diagnosed with CP who were born in Canada between 2008 and 2011, selected from 4 sites within the Canadian CP Registry (Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal). Two sources of information were used-children's medical charts and the population-based registry, which provided corresponding data for each child. Primary outcomes extracted from the charts were age at referral for diagnostic assessment, age at diagnosis, age at referral for rehabilitation services, and age at initial rehabilitation intervention. Twelve variables were explored as potential predictors. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and multiple linear regressions were conducted.

Results: Median age (in months) at referral for diagnostic assessment was 8 (mean: 12.7 ± 14.3), diagnosis 16 (mean: 18.9 ± 12.8), referral for rehabilitation services 10 (mean: 13.4 ± 13.5), and rehabilitation initiation 12 (mean: 15.9 ± 12.9). Lower maternal education, mild severity of motor dysfunction, type of CP, early discharge after birth, and region of residence explained between 20% and 32% of the variance in age at referral for assessment, diagnosis, referral for rehabilitation, and rehabilitation initiation.

Conclusions: Findings suggest wide variability exists in the age at which young children with CP are referred to specialists for diagnosis and intervention. User-friendly tools are therefore needed to enhance early detection and referral strategies by primary care practitioners, to ensure early interventions to optimize developmental outcomes and enhance opportunities for neural repair at a younger age.