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Quality assurance in day surgery: do we do enough for the parents to prevent stress?
1Department of Paediatric Surgery, University Children's Hospital, CH-3010 Bern, Switzerland. martin.toenz@insel.ch
Insights
Parental stress during pediatric day surgery is linked to insufficient preparation, home issues, and language barriers. Addressing parental insecurity is key to improving healthcare quality.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Surgery
- Parental Well-being
- Healthcare Quality
Background:
- Day surgery for children is increasingly common.
- Parental stress is a significant concern during pediatric surgical procedures.
- Understanding factors contributing to parental stress is crucial for improving care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and analyze factors associated with parental stress during pediatric day surgery.
- To investigate the relationship between specific challenges and the level of parental stress.
- To provide insights for enhancing support systems for parents undergoing pediatric day surgery.
Main Methods:
- A survey analysis was conducted on 568 parents whose children underwent day surgery over 18 months.
- A follow-up questionnaire was returned by 368 parents (65% follow-up rate).
- Statistical analysis identified factors significantly associated with parental stress.
Main Results:
- 16% of parents reported moderate to severe stress.
- Significant stress factors included insufficient preparation, insecurity in nursing care, home problems (fever, vomiting, sleep disorders), postoperative pain, foreign language, and no prior surgery experience.
- Insecurity in managing problems, rather than the problems themselves, was a major contributor to stress.
Conclusions:
- Parental stress during pediatric day surgery is influenced by multiple factors, including preparedness and home environment.
- Addressing parental insecurity and providing better support are essential for improving the quality of healthcare.
- Healthcare providers should focus on parents' needs and expectations to mitigate stress.
Abstract:
In order to identify and analyse the factors associated with stress for the parents during day surgery, we performed a survey analysis of 568 parents whose children underwent surgery consecutively during an 18-month period. Of 368 parents who returned the questionnaire, (follow up rate=65%), 16% experienced the stress associated with day surgery as moderate to severe. The following factors had a significant positive association with the amount of stress: feeling of insufficient preparation (odds ratio; 95% confidence interval) 3. 34 (1.36-8.26; P=0.002), insecurity in nursing care at home 3.36 (1. 43-11.01; P=0.01), problems at home such as fever, vomiting, sleep disorders and others 3.15 (1.72-5.8; P=0.0007), problems with postoperative pain at home 2.43 (1.38-4.3); P=0.008), speaking a foreign language 2.28 (1.08-4.78); P < 0.0001) and no previous surgery 1.31 (0.76-2.27); P=0.03). Analysing these factors showed that often not the problems per se, but rather the insecurity in dealing with them contributed to the experienced stress. Conclusion In order to improve the quality of health care, more pronounced attention has to be given to the parents needs and expectations.