Online questionnaire: What is the cause of cerebral palsy – accessible information for relevant individuals

In the 2016 we published paper in Neurology about the cause of cerebral palsy (CP). We found a significant genetic component in many children. Only later it occurred to me that there is a problem. We actually just missed the relevant audience- the parents! Not all parents with CP read Neurology (journal). I mean it could be that they do, but they may have missed our paper. Nonetheless they continue to expand the family while their child with CP may have a genetic cause that could be prevented in their next pregnancies. The question was how to provide this information to the relevant audience in their language and in a practical manner. I thought that an online questionnaire maybe a way to provide this information in an accessible manner. So I used Google forms to create an online questionnaire looking at the cause of cerebral palsy. This is a short questionnaire based on neurological concepts written in lay language. It is filled online anonymously without any personal information by a parent or physician and appears in 4 languages English,Arabic, Russian and Hebrew (other translations are welcome).

Will this work? I don’t know.. Let’s give it a try. It’s success very much depends on you. Please spread the word in social media so it would reach the right audience.

Find the cause of cerebral palsy- how can we help?

Reader: do you know individuals with cerebral palsy? if so share the questionnaire
CP community: do you know that some of the brain injuries are not acquired? A genetic cause can be preventable and maybe even treatable- Check the questionnaire
Doctors: do you have patients with cerebral palsy? check the questionnaire for the cause.

Try to use online medicine for accessible practical information to address the right audience

This may actually work.

Let’s try!