The Effectiveness of Video Education on Pre-operative Parental Knowledge and Anxiety

Pre-operative anxiety is a common and anticipated response to patients expecting to undergo anesthesia in preparation for surgery. Pre-operative parental anxiety can lead to increased anxiety in children, which is associated with physiologic alterations in the child. Pre-operative video education is an inexpensive method to increase knowledge and decrease pre-operative parental anxiety related to the perioperative process. The first goal of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of a pre-operative video in increasing knowledge of the perioperative experience in parents of children anticipating surgery by viewing a pre-operative video. Parental knowledge was measured before and after viewing the pre-operative video. Scores were analyzed using a paired sample t-test to determine if there was a significant difference between pre and post-test parental knowledge. There was a significant difference between the two scores (p = 0.004). The mean knowledge score pre-intervention (M = 14.16, SD = 2.035) was lower than the mean knowledge score post-intervention (M = 15.40, SD = 1.118), t (24) = 3.228. The second goal of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of viewing a pre-operative video in decreasing pre-operative parental anxiety in parents of children anticipating surgery by viewing pre-operative video. Parental anxiety was measured before and after viewing the pre-operative video. A paired sample t-test was used to determine if there was a significant difference between pre and post-test anxiety levels. There was a significant difference between pre and post-test parental state anxiety scores (p = 0.000). The mean anxiety score pre-intervention (M = 41.6, SD = 12.783) was higher than the mean anxiety score post-intervention (M = 33.04, SD = 9.914), t (24) = 4.381. Therefore, this project successfully addressed knowledge and stress (or anxiety as measured by the STAI). The video intervention allowed parents to learn, and even see, what their child would experience the day of surgery. By providing parents with this opportunity, their knowledge of what they and their child could expect the day of surgery increased, thereby decreasing the anxiety they were experiencing regarding the upcoming surgery. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.)