The influence of a play intervention on pre-operative anxiety in children at an academic hospital: A pilot study
Date
2020
Authors
Ramkisson, Ushira
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Abstract
Background: Research has shown that up to 65% of children who present for surgery experience anxiety in the pre-operative period, with the induction of anaesthesia being regarded as the most potent stimulator of the anxiety. The aim of this pilot study was to explore the influence of a play intervention on pre-operative anxiety in children presenting for elective surgery at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Methods: The sample was composed of 40 participants who were undergoing elective surgery, of which half were randomly assigned to the play intervention group (n=20) and received 15-minutes of play intervention. The control group (n=20), received standard pre-operative care. The m-YPAS was used to measure the anxiety levels in children during the induction of anaesthesia. Results: No significant differences were found between the two groups for age (p = 0.23) or sex (p = 0.52).The results showed that all children were anxious except for 2(5%) but that a significant difference between anxiety levels was found between the play intervention and control groups(p=0.0062).Conclusion: Children exposed to a 15-minute play intervention prior to surgery experienced significantly lower levels of anxiety at induction of anaesthesia than children receiving standard pre-operative care. It is suggested that a play intervention should be considered as a method of decreasing pre-operative anxiety in children and a larger study be conducted to gain more information
Description
A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Medicine in the branch of Anaesthesiology, 2020