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Children's and adolescents' experiences while undergoing cardiac catheterization
1University of Minnesota School of Nursing, MN, USA.
Problem:
To explore the experiences of children and adolescents undergoing a cardiac catheterization.
Subjects:
Caucasian children and adolescents (N = 24), 9-17 years, male and female, undergoing cardiac catheterization.
Method:
Exploratory design utilizing content analysis. The authors used an interview guide with 4 subsections to elicit self-reports of knowledge, perceptions, emotions, and evaluations.
Findings:
Major themes were anticipatory anxiety, pain, invasion of privacy, and being comforted. Many children had misconceptions or lack of knowledge of the procedure.
Conclusions & Implications For Nursing:
Nurses' knowledge of the impact on children and adolescents of a cardiac catheterization room, high-technology equipment, and invasive procedures may increase their sensitivity to children's and adolescents' perceptions of the experiences and promote individualized nursing care.