Análisis de diversas técnicas de reducción de ansiedad prequirúrgica en el niño y tutores

Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction.- Going through the operating room to undergo surgery is for children (as well as their parents) a stressful emotional situation for which its most obvious psychological indicator is anxiety. Objective.- To analyse whether different interventions designed to provide information about the process to which the child will be subjected, applied to children and parents, produce a decrease in State Anxiety (SA) in any party. Anywise as well what variables can affect these results. Methods.- Analytic experimental double-blind randomized controlled clinical trial with a control group (CG) and three experimental groups (EG): tale book reading; video with additional information from a nurse; or both activities. In the antechamber of the operating room the S-A and Trait Anxiety (T-A) of both the children and the parents were measured using the STAIC and STAI questionnaires, respectively. In the study, 125 children having surgery at Central Hospital of Asturias Spain (and their parents) were involved. Results.- Although the average S-A for the CG was 10 points higher than for each EG, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.26). Regarding the parents, S-A in CG was significantly higher than in EG (p < 0.05), with a higher difference for the tale book plus video group. A higher number of parents with high anxiety was found in CG than in EG (p=0.037). A linear model explains the parents S-A using as covariates the children S-A, the age and T-A of the parents (all of them increasing the parents¿ S-A), the children age and the allocation to an EG (reducing the S-A). Conclusion.- Providing information about the surgical process (through tales or videos) to which a child is going to be subjected can reduce the anxiety of the parents. The effects of reducing anxiety in children have not been significantly measured however.