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Comparative Analysis: Implementation of a Pre-operative Educational Intervention to Decrease Anxiety Among Parents of
Silvio Simeone1, Gianluca Pucciarelli2, Marco Perrone1
1Department Activities Integrated Cardiology, Cardiac Surgery and Emergency cardiovascular - ICU Cardiac Surgery University Hospital Policlinico Federico II, Naples, Italy.
Insights
A nursing educational intervention significantly reduced anxiety in parents of children undergoing heart surgery. Informing parents about procedures before surgery is key to lowering stress and anxiety.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nursing
- Surgical Care
- Patient Education
Background:
- Parental anxiety is a significant concern for children undergoing cardiac surgery.
- Lack of information about pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) stays can exacerbate parental stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a nursing educational intervention in reducing anxiety among parents of children undergoing their first heart surgery.
- To assess the impact of pre-operative education on parental stress levels.
Main Methods:
- A randomized comparative study design was employed.
- Parents were allocated to either a control group or an experimental group receiving educational intervention about PICU stay.
- Anxiety levels were measured using standardized scales.
Main Results:
- The experimental group, which received the educational intervention, reported lower average anxiety scores (63.0 [SD=3.5]) compared to the control group (70.4 [SD=2.8]).
- The findings suggest a positive correlation between pre-surgery education and reduced parental anxiety.
Conclusions:
- Adequate information regarding planned therapeutic procedures is crucial for decreasing parental anxiety and stress before pediatric surgery.
- Pre-surgery parent education may enhance knowledge and satisfaction, thereby decreasing anxiety associated with their child's cardiac surgery.
Purpose:
The present study evaluated the efficacy of a nursing educational intervention in alleviating the level of parental anxiety in the parents of children who required heart surgery for the first time.
Design And Methods:
A comparative study was used to explore the parents of children who had to undergo cardiac surgery. Parents of children were randomized into 2 groups: 1) control group and 2) experimental group or parents that received the educational intervention about PICU stay.
Result:
The results of STAY-1 showed that the average anxiety score of group 1 was lower than that of group 2 (63.0 [SD=3.5] vs. 70.4 [SD=2.8]).
Conclusion:
In order to decrease levels of parental anxiety and stress prior to paediatric surgery, parents should be adequately informed about planned therapeutic procedures.
Practice Implications:
We speculate that pre-surgery parent education on what to expect before, during and after their child's cardiac surgery may improve parents' knowledge and satisfaction and decrease anxiety.
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