Parental anxiety and stress before pediatric anesthesia: A pilot study on the effectiveness of preoperative clown intervention

As induction of pediatric anesthesia can elicit anxiety in children and parents alike, this study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of clown intervention in decreasing maternal anxiety and stress in the preoperative phase. Before anesthesia induction, 25 children were randomly assigned to cl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health psychology 2014-05, Vol.19 (5), p.587-601
Main Authors: Agostini, Francesca, Monti, Fiorella, Neri, Erica, Dellabartola, Sara, de Pascalis, Leonardo, Bozicevic, Laura
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Anaesthesia
Anesthesia, General - psychology
Anxiety
Anxiety - diagnosis
Anxiety - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child, Preschool
Children
Evaluation
Female
Humans
Institution therapy. Inpatient treatment
Male
Medical sciences
Mental stress
Mothers - psychology
Paediatrics
Parents
Pediatrics
Personality Assessment
Pilot Projects
Play and Playthings - psychology
Preoperative
Preoperative Care - psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Risk Factors
Somatoform Disorders - diagnosis
Somatoform Disorders - psychology
Stress
Stress, Psychological - psychology
Treatments
Wit and Humor as Topic
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Summary:As induction of pediatric anesthesia can elicit anxiety in children and parents alike, this study was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of clown intervention in decreasing maternal anxiety and stress in the preoperative phase. Before anesthesia induction, 25 children were randomly assigned to clown intervention and 25 to a control group with a routine procedure. In the waiting room and after separation from the child, maternal anxiety and stress were measured. The results showed that after separation, only in the clown group, maternal state anxiety significantly decreased and the tendency to somatization did not increase. Moreover, after clown intervention, older children’s mothers significantly reduced the level of perceived stress. As clown intervention can positively influence maternal anxiety and stress in the preoperative period, its promotion in clinical–hospital environments is recommended.
ISSN:1359-1053
1461-7277
DOI:10.1177/1359105313475900