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[The anxiety of children before elective surgery: descriptive study]
1Ospedale S. Chiara, Trento.
Insights
Fear and anxiety in children undergoing surgery are significant psychological reactions. This study highlights the importance of pre-operative education for children and parents to address these overlooked issues.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Surgical Patient Care
Context:
- Elective surgery presents significant psychological challenges for children.
- Maternal perspectives offer valuable insights into pediatric pre-operative anxiety.
Purpose:
- To identify and measure fear and anxiety in children (aged 7-14) before and after elective surgery.
- To assess the role of pre-operative psychological education for pediatric surgical patients and their parents.
Summary:
- A questionnaire-interview study involving 36 children and their mothers identified surgery and pain as primary sources of fear and anxiety.
- Findings indicate that a comprehensive interview model can reveal under-addressed psychological issues in pediatric surgical patients.
- The study discusses deficits in pre-operative psychological preparation for children and parents.
Impact:
- Emphasizes the need for improved pre-operative psychological support and education in pediatric surgical settings.
- Highlights the potential for early identification and treatment of psychological distress in young surgical patients.
- Advocates for integrating parental education into pre-surgical protocols to mitigate child anxiety.
Abstract:
Thirty-six children aged 7-14 years, scheduled for an elective surgery, were administered a questionnaire-interview in order to identify and measure fear and anxiety experienced before and after the surgery. The same questionnaire was administered also to the mothers. Fear and anxiety of the surgery itself and of pain are the main psychological reactions related to the surgery. The interview to the mother and the child represents an interesting study model that allows to identify problems too often underlooked-undertreated by the health care personnel. Problems related to a poor pre-operative psychological education of the children and their parents are discussed.