Biomedical subjects

G Chaudhury

Publications and source records attributed to G Chaudhury.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2005

Is social support sometimes a mixed blessing?

BACKGROUND: Child behavioural problems in epilepsy originate from a poorly understood interplay between intrinsic, family and social factors. METHODS: We re-analysed data from a randomized controlled trial of antiepileptic treatment in rural India, using regression analysis to find risk factors for behavioural problems. RESULTS: Parental satisfaction with social support was positively and independently correlated with child behavioural problems (P=0.03). CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest parents' interactions within their informal social support network, contrary to expectation, may increase risk for behavioural problems in their children. We suggest a possible explanation for this correlation as well as follow-up studies to investigate the social support-as-risk factor hypothesis.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Predictors of parental adjustment to children's epilepsy in rural India.

BACKGROUND: Negative societal attitudes towards disability affect the adjustment of parents when their child is diagnosed with epilepsy. Recent studies have suggested that parental and child outcomes, including adjustment, can be influenced by non-directed social support to mothers of children with disability. The objective of our study was to test the hypothesis that maternal satisfaction with social support, measured at the beginning of treatment, would predict parental adjustment to the child's epilepsy after 1 year of treatment. METHODS: We enrolled 46 mothers of children aged 6-18 years with epilepsy in the study. We measured social support using the modified Dunst family support scale, and parental adjustment using a locally validated instrument (S-PAM). Correlation was tested using a multiple linear regression model, allowing for confounding variables. RESULTS: Parental adjustment at outcome was positively independently correlated with satisfaction with social support at baseline,and negatively with severity of the child's epilepsy. The regression model explained 34% of the total variance. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together with evidence from previous studies, this finding supports the idea that helping parents to find more satisfaction within their (new or existing) social networks will promote adjustment to their child's disability.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1999

Validation of a Bengali adaptation of the Conners' Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-48).

BACKGROUND: The Conners' Parent Rating Scales (CPRS) have been used to measure behavioural problems in drug trials in children for many years. This study in rural India aimed to validate a translated version of the CPRS-48 for use in a study of anti-epileptic drug side-effects. METHOD: The Scale was translated into local dialect, back-translated, and piloted among healthy families. The revised version was then administered to mothers of 60 healthy children and 63 children with epilepsy. Tests of internal reliability, test-retest reliability and factor analysis were performed. RESULTS: Cronbach's alpha ranged from 0.60 to 0.75 for the subscales, and correlation coefficients after retesting from 0.84 to 0.99. The overall factor structure was very similar to that reported in the original USA sample. CONCLUSION: The Bengali version of the CPRS-48 and its Hyperactivity Index have validity for rural Bengali children, and the process demonstrates that such instruments can be usefully adapted for local purposes.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1998

Randomised controlled trial to assess acceptability of phenobarbital for childhood epilepsy in rural India.

BACKGROUND: The use of phenobarbital for childhood epilepsy is controversial because of reported behavioural side-effects; however, whether this research can validly be extrapolated to developing countries is not clear. We undertook a randomised comparison of phenobarbital and phenytoin to assess the acceptability and efficacy of phenobarbital as monotherapy for childhood epilepsy in rural India. METHODS: Between August, 1995, and February, 1996, 109 unselected children aged 2-18 years with partial and generalised tonic-clonic epilepsy were identified by population screening. 15 families declined to take part. 94 children were randomly allocated treatment with phenobarbital (1.5 mg/kg daily for 2 weeks; maintenance dose 3.0 mg/kg daily; n = 47) or phenytoin (2.5 mg/kg daily then 5.0 mg/kg daily; n = 47). Children were followed up for 12 months. The primary outcome measure was the frequency of behavioural side-effects; behaviour was assessed by the Conners parent rating scale for children aged 6 years and older, and by the preschool behaviour screening questionnaire (BSQ) for those aged 2-5 years, at 12 months or at withdrawal from treatment. Analysis was by intention to treat. FINDINGS: The mean log-transformed scores on the behaviour rating scales did not differ significantly between the phenobarbital and phenytoin groups (Conners 2.64 [SD 0.71] vs 2.65 [0.89], p = 0.97; n = 32 in each group: BSQ 2.12 [1.31] vs 2.18 [1.02], p = 0.94; n = 4 vs 3). The odds ratio for behavioural problems (phenobarbital vs phenytoin) was 0.51 (95% CI 0.16-1.59). There was no excess in parental reports of side-effects for phenobarbital. We found no difference in efficacy between the study drugs (adjusted hazard ratio for time to first seizure from randomisation 0.97 [0.28-3.30]). INTERPRETATION: This evidence supports the acceptability of phenobarbital as a first-line drug for childhood epilepsy in rural settings in developing countries.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1998

Preliminary validation of a parental adjustment measure for use with families of disabled children in rural India.

Parental adjustment is an important outcome in child disability interventions, as well as an important mediating variable for other child and family outcomes. This is just as true in developing countries using models of community-based rehabilitation. Previous experience with Western instruments indicated that an appropriate new measure was required. A questionnaire containing 34 attitude statements rated on a five point scale was administered to the mothers of 46 children with epilepsy in a treatment programme in rural West Bengal, India. Factor analysis was performed on the dataset. Mothers reported feelings of rejection, low self-esteem and guilt. Four domains were derived from the factor analysis. All these attitudes are consistent with previous indian studies on childhood disability. These preliminary findings have implications for social support and counselling intervention. Further research is necessary to validate this instrument for field studies of intervention.

Adaptation, Psychological↗