Impact of Audio-visual counselling to alleviate fear factor in parents of children undergoing surgery

Shobha V; Saurabh Mittal; Veena Asthana

Volume : IX, Issue : VI, June - 2020

Impact of Audio-visual counselling to alleviate fear factor in parents of children undergoing surgery

Shobha V, Saurabh Mittal, Veena Asthana

Abstract :

Background: A child�s hospitalization and surgery is a source of anxiety, depression and stress for parents. The aim of the current study is to evaluate how audiovisual presentation impact preoperative parental anxiety of children undergoing elective surgery. Materials and Methods: A total of 108 parents of children scheduled to undergo surgery, participated in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups; verbal counseling only (Group A, n=54) and verbal counseling along with an audio–visual clip (Group B, n=54). During the evaluation, a Self Evaluation questionnaire was used a day prior to surgery and on the day of surgery. Results: There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics between the groups. The mean anxiety score of parents were less in the group B compared to the group A after the intervention. The level of anxiety significantly decreased from high to moderate and from moderate to low intensity in Group B than in Groups A (P < 0.001 and P < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: The preoperative education program in the form of audiovisual presentation has shown to be effective in reducing parental anxiety and can be effectively used in pediatric surgical units to support the parents