Assessment tools used by occupational therapists in children with obstetric brachial plexus palsy

• Main Authors: Thaianny Taís Dantas de Brito, Carolinne Linhares Pinheiro
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de São Carlos 2016-04-01
• Series: Cadernos de Terapia Ocupacional
• Subjects: Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy; Child; Assessment; Occupational Therapy.
• Online Access: http://www.cadernosdeterapiaocupacional.ufscar.br/index.php/cadernos/article/view/944/720

Introduction: The Obstetric Brachial Plexus Palsy (OBPP) is a result of brachial plexus injury at birth and may cause dysfunction of the affected upper limb, reflecting significantly in the child’s life. When evaluating a child with OBPP the occupational therapist can use evaluation tools, and has to have knowledge to choose and apply the most appropriate instrument. Objective: This review aimed to analyze the literature on the use of evaluation tools by occupational therapists in children with OBPP. Method: The search for articles was performed in the databases Scirus, Cinahl, Medline, Psycinfo, Scopus and Lilacs using the following selection criteria: studies with 0-12 years old children with OBPP in English, Portuguese and Spanish, published in the last 10 years, with the occupational therapist as one of the authors and/or reporting the application of the instrument by this professional. Results: There were 15 studies from six countries that reported 17 evaluation instruments, five of which, recently developed, were specific to this clientele. The study did not identify the need to modify the non-specific instruments to the application in children with OBPP, demonstrating that they can be used in its original format, facilitating the use in the clinical practice. Most instruments included aspects related to occupational performance inserted in the field of Activity and Participation of the International Classification of Functioning, indicating the concern of this professional in suiting the assessment process of the child with the OBPP to the current paradigm of health understanding and occupational therapy field.