Parents’ attitudes critical to quality of child’s care
Stressed out parents create overanxious children
Turning the nurse’s station into a gazebo and patient rooms into miniature houses may calm your pint-sized patients, but more importantly, the homey look may calm their parents.
A recent study shows that parents’ attitude toward their children’s hospitalization significantly affects the children’s anxiety levels.
A child who had a very anxious mother in the [pre-op] holding area was 3.2 times more likely to have persistent behavioral problems than a child with a calm mother, according to the the authors of a Yale University School of Medicine study. (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1996; 150:1,238-1,245.)
Approximately 40% to 60% of children experience anxiety about surgery and hospitalization in the form of agitation, trembling, crying, bed-wetting, muscle tension, and even attempts to escape from hospital personnel.
The study indicates that a parents’ calmness may be the best way to help ease pre-op and hospitalization fears, the study says. By moderating their own behavior, parents can ease their children’s anxiety.
"I agree with that," says Claire Cowen, MA, CCLF, the child life coordinator at The Children’s Regional Hospital, an affiliate of Cooper Hospital/University Medical Center in Camden, NJ. "Children pick up their parent’s mood. Everything we’re doing here is to try and help the patients and their parents make the best of it."
Cowen says she can speak first-hand about the anxiety a parent feels. She spent several weeks walking the halls while her child was sick. She slept on a cot next to the bed and did not have access to a washer and dryer, a kitchen, or a good night’s rest.
"It’s hard to say calm and keep a clear head," Cowen says. "These things don’t seem like much, but they are."
In fact, many of the new features in the redesigned unit are drawn from parents who told about their experiences staying with their children in the hospital. For example, the idea to include a washer and dryer in the parents’ lounge came from a mother who cared for her child during chemotherapy. The mother wrote that when her child vomited on his security blanket, she would have to wash it out in the sink and dry it with a hair dryer.
"She couldn’t wait to take it home and clean it, he needed it right away," Cowen says. That’s where we got the idea to put a washer and dryer in the lounge. We wanted to provide as much support to these families as we can. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s little things like this that make a difference."
The lounge itself was added to enable parents to regroup during stressful times , while remaining close to their children.
"Sometimes parents just needed to get away for a little bit," Hoffman says.
The family-centered care philosophy, itself, is also designed to comfort both parent and patient. The model stresses collaboration between the parents and the care givers during the treatment process. The staff meet with the parents and solicit their input for a treatment plan. This input enables the parents to maintain a sense of control during their hospital stay.
"The medical model is a hierarchical one," Cowen says. "It used to be parents were told what to do, and that was it. But society has changed, and attitudes have changed. We recognize the strength of the family. They are critical. We now work as partners in the care."
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content