Change in residential remoteness during the first 5 years of life in an Australian cerebral palsy cohort.

Aim: To determine if families of children with cerebral palsy living in Australia move to less remote areas between birth and 5 years.
Method: Children on the Australian Cerebral Palsy Register (n=3399) born 1996 to 2005, were assigned a remoteness value for family residence at birth and 5 years using a modification of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard. Each value at birth was subtracted from the value at 5 years yielding a positive difference if they moved more remotely, negative difference if they moved less remotely and a value of zero if they did not move or moved to an equally remote residence.
Results: The small net increase in remoteness across this cohort was non-significant (p=0.43). Fifty-seven per cent of families changed postcode but only 20% changed remoteness, 11% more remotely, and 9% less remotely. There was a small trend for families with a child with more impaired gross motor function (Gross Motor Function Classification System levels IV and V) to move to a less remote area.
Interpretation: This cohort of families with children with cerebral palsy did not appear to move to less remote areas by age 5 years. Remoteness at birth and level of gross motor function seem to have little effect.
(© 2016 The Authors. Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology © 2016 Mac Keith Press.)