Assessment of pain, quality of life and impaction in caregivers of children with obstetric brachial plexus paralysis

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the level of pain, quality of life and impaction in caregivers of children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP). A total of 102 individuals, 51 caregivers of children with OBPP with a mean age of 33.52±4.69 years and 51 caregivers of typical developing child with a mean age of 32.15±4.67 years, participated in the study. After questioning the physical and sociodemographic information of the participants, the Turkish version of the World Health Organisation Quality of Life Scale Short Form was used to assess quality of life, the Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire was used to assess musculoskeletal pain, the Family Impact Scale was used to assess the level of family impact, the Beck Depression Scale was used to assess the level of depression, and the Pittsburg Sleep Quality Index was used to assess sleep quality. In caregivers of children with OBPP; low back, right upper arm, hip disorders (p=0.019, p=0.021, p=0.033), financial status, personal stress, coping, total impact score (p=0.000, p=0.002 ,p=0.000, p=0.009) from the Family Impact Scale sub-parameters was significantly higher. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of quality of life (p=0.423, p=0.298, p=0.625, p=0.167, p=0.991) sleep quality (p=0.826) and depression level (p=0.227). In the study, the level of pain and impaction of the caregivers of the child with OBPP was found to be higher than the caregivers of the typically developing child. As a result of this study, we believe that it would be clinically beneficial to include the caregivers of children with OBPP in the assessment programme and as a result, to include them in individual or group sessions planned specifically for the individual.