Pain prevalence and its impact on the quality of life in a sample of Turkish children with cerebral palsy

Abstract

PURPOSE: To investigate the measurement properties of the Pain Evaluation Scale (PES), to estimate the prevalence of pain based on the PES data, and to evaluate the impact of pain on the quality of life (QoL) in a sample of Turkish children with CP. METHOD: A total of 346 children with CP participated in a cross-sectional study. The Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), PES, Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale, and the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ-PF50) were used as the assessment tools. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was 0.90 for the PES. The PES score was moderately correlated with the bodily pain subscale score, and very weekly with the mental health subscale score of the CHQ-PF50. For the threshold value of 2 on the PES, sensitivity and specificity were 91.1% and 100%, respectively. Overall, apparent prevalence and true prevalence of pain were 69.1% and 75.9%, respectively. There was a significant negative effect of pain on the QoL of subjects. The pain also negatively affected parent's personal time and caused limitations in family activities. CONCLUSIONS: The PES is valid and reliable pain assessment tool for children with CP. Pain is a frequent health problem and has severe consequences both on the cerebral palsied children's QoL and their family.