Bienestar emocional de los padres de niños con lesión del plexo braquial obstétrica: un estudio transversal

Abstract

Emotional well-being of parents with children with obstetric brachial plexus injury: A cross-sectional study. There is evidence that mothers of children with obstetric brachial plexus injury (PBO) show depressive and anxious symptoms and have low quality of life. Most of these studies evaluate only mothers (without considering fathers) and there are no recent data that collect their adaptation during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the role of social support in this population and their emotional well-being has not been explored to date. The aim of the current study was to evaluate depressive symptoms, anxiety, social support and quality of life in this population. To do this, all participants were interviewed online in order to evaluate these variables. Parents (90% women; mean age = 37.47; SD = 4.82) of 30 children between 0 and 6 years old with brachial plexus injury (40% women; mean age = 2.80; SD = 1, 60) participated. The levels of depressive and anxious symptomatology were moderate. The level of satisfaction regarding the social support received was high, while the average number of people who provide help was low. The participants presented a high quality of life and health in variables such as physical function, physical role, bodily pain, general health, social function, emotional role and mental health. However, they presented a moderate level life quality and health in vitality. This study provides evidence on variables related to the mental health of primary caregivers of children with PBO during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain.