Psychological distress among parents of children with obstetric brachial plexus injury visiting pediatric departments

Abstract

Obstetrical brachial plexus injury (OBPI) is a severe nerve injury that is destructive with expected lifelong repercussions among affected children. A child with morbidity can affect a family in several ways, encompassing social, relational, financial, and emotional states. However, such effects on households remain mostly unrecognized, where the focus remains solely on the child’s health or his/her treatment endeavors, with little attention given to the parent's emotional state. Therefore, this study aimed to measure psychological distress among parents of children with OBPI. This descriptive cross-sectional study recruited 100 parents with children aged between 18 months and 16 years under treatment for OBPI who visited different healthcare facilities using a purposive sampling technique. Data were collected by conducting face-to-face interviews. The study used the General Health Questionnaire-12 (GHQ-12) to assess parents’ psychological distress. The positive items were assigned scores from 0 to 3 (i.e., always to never), and the negative items were assigned scores from 3 to 0 (i.e., always to never). The outcome score ranged between 0 and 36, with higher scores indicating a greater likelihood of general psychological distress. Descriptive statistics were calculated to achieve the study objectives. Most children suffering from OBPI were male (64%) rather than female (36%). All positive items of the GHQ-12 questionnaire had an average low score, indicating parents were not feeling reasonably happy, less able to concentrate on their routine work, somewhat incapable of making decisions, and unable to enjoy day-to-day activities. In contrast, negative items had an average high score, indicating that parents constantly felt under strain, could not overcome difficulties, felt unhappy and depressed, and lost confidence. The average GHQ-12 score was 23.47 ± 2.54, depicting a high level of psychological distress among parents of children with OBPI. Our study concluded that parents of children with OBPI are at potential risk of various psychological problems. Therefore, health personnel should be aware of these parents’ psychological adjustment and refer them for psychological support when necessary.