Effectiveness of Pre-Operative Education on Post-Operative Anxiety Outcome in Parents Having Children Undergoing Cardiac Surgeries in Peshawar

Abstract

Around the globe, 1.3 million babies are born with congenital heart defects (CHD); among them, 70% of the patients go for medical or surgical intervention. Parents of children undergoing any intervention usually experience psychological stress and anxiety. Preoperative education can improve patient outcomes and satisfaction with surgical procedures. Unfortunately, preoperative education is not a common practice in Pakistan. In order to decrease parental anxiety, they should be properly informed about upcoming surgical procedure of their child. To evaluate the effectiveness of pre-operative education on post-operative anxiety outcome in parents having children undergoing cardiac surgeries in Peshawar. quantitative study was conducted in Peshawar, Pakistan, on the parents of children undergoing cardiac surgeries. Data was collected from 50 parents using the State Anxiety Inventory pre- and postoperatively, which was composed of 20 questions. All the participants were included in the study following convenient sampling. The mean scores of postoperative anxieties (μ= 29.3) were much lesser than preoperative anxiety (μ= 69.7); it implied that preoperative education had a positive impact on reducing anxiety postoperatively. The results showed that almost two-thirds (62%) of the participants were female, while only 38% were male. Two-fifths (40.0%) of the parents were literate, (60%) of the participants were employed, and more than four scores (82.0%) had lower income levels of less than 50,000 PKR a month. Preoperative education was having a positive impact on reducing post-operative anxiety. Parents could be facilitated by extending educational support through meaningful programs and to ensure speedy recovery of both children and their parents.