A private affair: children's experiences prior to colonoscopy
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Published on: August 1, 2019
Vedrana Vejzovic1, Anne Wennick, Ewa Idvall
1Department of Care Science, Faculty of Health and Society, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden.
Insights
Children
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Child Psychology
- Medical Sociology
Background:
- Children require thorough preparation for stressful medical procedures like colonoscopy to minimize anxiety.
- Colonoscopy is a key diagnostic tool for inflammatory bowel disease in pediatric patients.
- Understanding children's perspectives is crucial for effective anxiety reduction during medical interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and understand the subjective experiences of children undergoing colonoscopy.
- To identify key themes and categories related to children's pre-colonoscopy experiences.
- To inform tailored preparation strategies for pediatric patients.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative interview study design.
- Involved 17 children aged 10-17 years undergoing colonoscopy.
- Content analysis of verbatim interview transcripts.
Main Results:
- Children's pre-colonoscopy experiences were characterized as a 'private affair'.
- Key themes included preparing oneself, mastering the situation, reluctant participation, and feeling emotional support.
- Identified distinct categories of children's pre-procedural experiences.
Conclusions:
- Children's pre-colonoscopy experiences are deeply personal and require individual adaptation of preparation.
- Tailored 'preprocedural' preparation enhances comprehension and potentially reduces anxiety.
- Findings offer insights for healthcare professionals to better assess and support children's needs before colonoscopy.
Aims And Objectives:
To illuminate children's experiences prior to colonoscopy.
Background:
It is well known that children need to be well prepared before undergoing stressful medical procedures, and the goal of such preparations should focus on minimising their level of anxiety. The clinical investigation of children with suspected inflammatory bowel disease involves several steps, with colonoscopy being routinely used to investigate the colon and the lower part of the small intestine. To minimise children's anxiety during various medical procedures, it is important that information about their experiences is obtained directly from the children themselves.
Design:
A qualitative study.
Method:
The study was designed as a qualitative interview study involving 17 children aged 10-17 years undergoing colonoscopy at a children's university hospital in Sweden. Verbatim transcripts were analysed using content analysis.
Results:
The children's experiences prior to colonoscopy were identified as belonging to an overall theme, a private affair, and to four categories: preparing yourself, mastering the situation, reluctantly participating and feeling emotional support.
Conclusion:
This study shows that children's experiences prior to colonoscopy are a private affair and that the preparation needs to be individually adapted for the 'preprocedural' preparation to be comprehended.
Relevance To Clinical Practice:
The children's experiences ascertained in this study can contribute to a greater understanding of children's needs prior to a colonoscopy and may provide professional care staff with the basis for future nursing assessments.
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