The Impact of Empowerment Education on Discharge Readiness and Care Burden of Caregivers of Children with Congenital Heart Disease.

ABSTRACT

Context Care burden refers to the physical burden that caregivers bear during the process of caring for children with congenital heart disease (CHD), and discharge readiness mainly refers to the confidence of the main caregivers in taking care of patients. Empowerment education's influence on the discharge readiness and caregivers' burden is unknown for children with CHD. Objective: The study intended to explore the impact of empowerment education on the discharge readiness and care burden of caregivers of children with CHD. Design: The research team conducted a prospective cohort study. Setting: The study took place at Anhui Provincial Children's Hospital in Hefei City, China. Participants: Participants were 163 caregivers of children who underwent surgery for CHD at the hospital between January 2019 and August 2021. Interventions: The research team divided participants into two groups using convenience sampling (1) a control group, with 82 participants who received routine nursing education and intervention, and (2) an intervention group, with 81 participants who received empowered nursing education. Outcome Measures: Postintervention, the research team evaluated the caregivers' (1) readiness for the child's discharge and (2) burden level. Results: Postintervention, the intervention group's (1) total score for discharge readiness and scores on the personal status and adaptability dimensions were significantly higher than those of the control group (all P < .05), and (2) care burden level was significantly lower than that of the control group (P < .05). Conclusions: Empowerment education can help caregivers of children with congenital defects of the heart to build awareness of the need to participate in disease management, improve disease-related knowledge and skills, reduce their negative emotions, and improve their level of preparation for their children's discharge and reduce their level of care burden. The therapy is worth further investigation and popularization.