Impact of educational videos on maternal anxiety caused by children's heart surgery

Abstract

BackgroundMothers of children undergoing surgery for congenital heart disease experience significant stress. Therefore, finding a strategy to decrease this is vital.AimsTo examine whether adding educational digital video discs to routine education can reduce maternal anxiety and depression when their children undergo heart surgery and when surgical or post‐surgical complications occur.Study DesignIn a teaching hospital, 120 mothers whose children underwent elective heart surgery were randomly and equally divided into two groups: mothers receiving routine education plus a digital video disc before surgery and mothers receiving only routine education. Mothers' anxiety and depression levels were compared before education, after education (before surgery), and on discharge day. The effect of watching the digital video disc on maternal anxiety and depression on discharge day was evaluated for the participants whose children had surgical or post‐surgical complications.ResultsCompared with only routine education, mothers' anxiety after education and on the discharge day decreased more if digital video disc was added. Depression decreased more after education, but no difference was found on the discharge day. Anxiety levels of mothers whose children had surgical or post‐surgical complications on the discharge day decreased more if they watched the digital video disc, compared with those receiving only routine education (Beck anxiety inventory score 3.4 ± 1.9 and 6.1 ± 2.4 respectively; p‐value .001).ConclusionsCompared with only routine education, adding digital video disc could decrease mothers' anxiety, and until the day of discharge. Compared with only routine education, adding digital video disc could decrease mothers' anxiety on the discharge day if their child had surgical or post‐surgical complications.Relevance to Clinical PracticeAdding educational digital video disc to routine education could decrease mothers' anxiety until the day of discharge. It could also decrease mothers' anxiety if their child had surgical or post‐surgical complications.

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“…Another Turkish study 29 evaluated the effect of cold compresses applied to the bilateral frontotemporal and occipital regions for headache among individuals receiving intravenous nitroglycerin treatment. A Taiwanese study 30 examined the impact of adding educational digital video discs to routine education on maternal anxiety and depression caused by children's heart surgery, whereas an Irish study 31 evaluated the impact of a prevention care bundle on the incidence of pressure injuries in patients with COVID‐19 acute respiratory distress syndrome nursed in a prone position.…”