RESUMO
Objective: Audio-visual interventions have been used to provide relevant patient information to reduce pre-operative anxiety in children. The aim of the study was to investigate whether self-reported state anxiety in children could be reduced by presenting a child-friendly educational video on the day of surgery. Methods: A prospective, single-blinded, two-armed, randomized controlled study was designed with three measurement time points including 90 children (6-17 years) and their parents. In the intervention group (IG), the children and their parents were shown a child-friendly video explaining the perioperative procedures that would be applied during the hospital stay, in addition to receiving standard information. In the control group (CG), children and parents received standard information provided by the nursing staff. The primary outcome was any change in the children's pre-operative state anxiety levels, as measured by the State-Trait Operation Anxiety Inventory (STOA). A secondary outcome was patient satisfaction regarding the received information. Results: Anxiety was significantly reduced in both groups after receiving either the intervention plus standard information or the standard information only. No significant difference in anxiety reduction was observed between the IG and the CG. However, the children and parents in the IG reported fewer worries than those in the CG. Conclusion: A child-friendly, educational video can be an additional tool for providing patient information and reducing pre-operative anxiety in children and their parents. Further studies should focus on the timing of the intervention and on age- and developmentally appropriate information formats and contents to address children's pre-operative anxiety. Clinical Trial Registration: Patient Anxiety Reduction in Children by Using Simple Explanation Videos, ID: NCT0441377; www.clinicaltrials.gov, Data Sharing Statement: Deidentified individual participant data will not be made available.
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If illness behaviour is to be fully understood, the social and behavioural sciences must work together to understand the wider forms in which illness is experienced and communicated with individuals and society. The current paper synthesised literature across social and behavioural sciences exploring illness experience and communication through physical and mental images. It argues that images may have the capacity to embody and influence beliefs, emotions, and health outcomes. While four commonalities exist, facilitating understandings of illness behaviour across the fields (i.e., understanding the importance of the patient perspective; perception of the cause, sense of identity with the illness, consequences, and level of control; health beliefs influencing illness experience, behaviours, and outcomes; and understanding illness beliefs and experiences through an almost exclusive focus on the written or spoken word), we will focus on exploring the fourth commonality. The choice to focus on the role of images on illness behaviour is due to the proliferation of interventions using image-based approaches. While these novel approaches show merit, there is a scarcity of theoretical underpinnings and explorations into the ways in which these are developed and into how people perceive and understand their own illnesses using image representations. The current paper identified that the use of images can elucidate patient and practitioner understandings of illness, facilitate communication, and potentially influence illness behaviours. It further identified commonalities across the social and behavioural sciences to facilitate theory informed understandings of illness behaviour which could be applied to visual intervention development to improve health outcomes.
Assuntos
Comunicação , Comportamento de Doença , HumanosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: An increasing number of children are suffering from brain damage-related visual processing dysfunctions (VPD). There is currently a lack of evidence-based intervention methods that can be used early in development. We developed a visual intervention protocol suitable from 1 year of age. The protocol is structured, comprehensive and individually adaptive, and is paired with quantitative outcome assessments. Our aim is to investigate the effectiveness of this first visual intervention program for young children with (a risk of) VPD. METHODS: This is a single-blind, placebo-controlled trial that is embedded within standard clinical care. The study population consists of 100 children born very or extremely preterm (< 30 weeks) at 1 year of corrected age (CA), of whom 50% are expected to have VPD. First, children undergo a visual screening at 1 year CA. If they are classified as being at risk of VPD, they are referred to standard care, which involves an ophthalmic and visual function assessment and a (newly developed) visual intervention program. This program consists of a general protocol (standardized and similar for all children) and a supplement protocol (adapted to the specific needs of the child). Children are randomly allocated to an intervention group (starting upon inclusion at 1 year CA) or a control group (postponed: starting at 2 years CA). The control group will receive a placebo treatment. The effectiveness of early visual intervention will be examined with follow-up visual and neurocognitive assessments after 1 year (upon completion of the direct intervention) and after 2 years (upon completion of the postponed intervention). DISCUSSION: Through this randomized controlled trial we will establish the effectiveness of a new and early visual intervention program. Combining a general and supplement protocol enables both structured comparisons between participants and groups, and custom habilitation that is tailored to a child's specific needs. The design ensures that all included children will benefit from participation by advancing the age at which they start receiving an intervention. We expect results to be applicable to the overall population of children with (a risk of) VPD early in life. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Netherlands Trial Register: NTR6952. Registered 19 January 2018.