Construction and validation of a Brazilian educational comic book for pediatric perioperative care

Educational material can facilitate familiarization with the hospital and surgical contexts for children and guardians and minimize potential difficulties experienced during hospitalization. This study aimed to construct and validate a comic book for guiding children in perioperative care.

A descriptive study was conducted at a pediatric ward in a university hospital in Brazil. A content validity index with a concordance of 0.8 was used for validation.

The content was validated with the participation of 19 content judges (nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgeons); face validity was achieved with the participation of 22 parents and their respective children aged 7-12 years old. The contents of the comic book included perioperative care (hospitalization, fasting, surgical team, operating room, and anesthesia). Universal content validity indices of 0.89 and 0.99 were obtained for content and face validity, respectively. Free Portuguese educational material titled "Getting to know the Surgery Center" was created in the form of a 19-page comic book in print and digital formats. The comic book was face and content validated and considered relevant for children in perioperative care. The suggestions of the healthcare professional and families who participated contributed toward the final version of this educational comic book.

This study aimed to further the development of educational materials that help alleviate stress, fear, and anxiety among children awaiting surgery, as well as their parents/guardians. As such, it offers a positive and appropriate contribution to perioperative nursing. The study further contributes to a discussion on pediatric nursing, which goes beyond clinical care and procedure. In the context of pediatric surgery and the children themselves, the results indicate that the family must be included in the surgical process and that the language employed must be appropriate to the target audience. Our comic book can be used by nurses to develop similar resources for diverse needs.