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Informing parents about anaesthesia for children's surgery: a critical literature review

Linda S Franck1, Caroline Spencer

  • 1Institute of Child Health and Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Trust, London, UK. l.franck@ich.ucl.ac.uk

Patient Education and Counseling
|November 1, 2005
PubMed

Insights

Parents need detailed information about pediatric anesthesia, including procedures and risks. Improving information delivery enhances parental knowledge, reduces anxiety, and increases satisfaction with anesthetic care.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Anesthesiology
  • Medical Information Delivery
  • Patient Education

Background:

  • Providing adequate information to parents regarding pediatric anesthesia is crucial for informed consent and reducing patient/parent anxiety.
  • Existing literature highlights a need for standardized methods to assess parental understanding and anxiety levels related to anesthesia.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To critically analyze published research on information provision for parents of children undergoing anesthesia.
  • To identify effective methods for delivering anesthesia-related information to parents and assess their impact on knowledge, anxiety, and satisfaction.

Main Methods:

  • A comprehensive search of the biomedical literature identified 11 relevant studies (6 descriptive, 5 intervention).
  • Evaluated standardized instruments for measuring parental knowledge, information needs, and anxiety.
  • Assessed intervention studies testing verbal, video, and written information delivery methods.

Main Results:

  • Standardized instruments for assessing parental knowledge and anxiety demonstrate preliminary validity and reliability.
  • Intervention studies showed improvements in parental knowledge, reduced anxiety, and increased satisfaction with information provided.
  • Parents desire detailed information on anesthetic procedures, risks, and healthcare team roles.

Conclusions:

  • Information on pediatric anesthesia should be integrated into routine pre-surgical anesthesia assessment clinics.
  • Current evidence suggests feasibility, rather than a specific mode of delivery, should guide information provision to ensure consistent parental understanding.
  • Regular audits of parental satisfaction are recommended for continuous improvement of information content and delivery methods.

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