An educational booklet diminishes anxiety in parents whose children receive total parenteral nutrition
L. Laine, R. J. Shulman, K. Bartholomew, P. Gardner, T. Reed and S. Cole
Office of Educational Resources, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston.
A major cause of anxiety in parents of hospitalized children is
insufficient information about hospital procedures. In an effort to
determine the extent to which parental anxiety could be diminished and
knowledge and satisfaction enhanced in regard to total parenteral nutrition
(TPN), we developed a booklet that describes the mechanics of TPN
administration and related procedures. When informal discussions were held
between parents and members of the nutritional support team during four
alternating periods (every five to six months), parents of first-time
recipients of TPN either did not receive the booklet (period 1, n = 20;
period 3, n = 30) or received it (period 2, n = 23; period 4, n = 27).
Within one week of TPN initiation, parents in both groups completed the
Spielberger State-Trait anxiety scale, an attitude questionnaire, and a
quiz on TPN. No differences between groups were found in ethnic background,
socioeconomic status, severity of illness, age of children, or route of TPN
administration. Predisposition to anxiety was also similar between the
groups. In contrast, acute situational anxiety was significantly greater in
the group with no booklet than in the booklet group. Parents in the
no-booklet group demonstrated less comfort in the care of their children
and less knowledge about TPN than did the booklet group. Written
information provided to parents decreased their anxiety and increased
satisfaction with patient care more successfully than did verbal
communication. Such a booklet may reduce parentally induced anxiety in the
child and facilitate parent-hospital staff interactions.
