Using an Educational Multimedia Application to Prepare Children for Outpatient Surgeries

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Surgery
• Medical Psychology
• Healthcare Interventions

Background:

• Surgery presents significant stress for pediatric patients and their families.
• Preoperative care strategies aim to mitigate anxiety associated with surgical procedures.
• Understanding interventions to reduce preoperative distress is crucial for patient well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of an educational multimedia intervention on children's cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses to surgery.
• To assess the effect of the intervention on parental state anxiety.
• To compare the educational intervention with an entertainment video game and a control group.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 90 children undergoing surgery.
• Three groups were utilized: educational multimedia intervention, entertainment video game intervention, and a control group (no intervention).
• Outcomes measured included children's reported worries and parental state anxiety.

Main Results:

• Children receiving the educational multimedia intervention reported fewer worries about hospitalization, procedures, illness, and negative outcomes compared to both control and entertainment groups.
• Parental state anxiety was reduced in both the educational and entertainment video game groups compared to the control group.
• The educational intervention demonstrated a significant impact on reducing children's preoperative concerns.

Conclusions:

• Providing children with information about medical procedures and hospital routines effectively reduces their preoperative worries.
• Educational interventions are beneficial not only for children but also for alleviating parental anxiety.
• Multimedia educational tools can be a valuable component of preoperative care in pediatric surgery.