Surgical operation can lead to emotional distress for both children and their families that persists for a
long time after discharge. This distress is commonly reflected as anxiety and fear. Through continuous care model,
children's anxiety and fear can be decreased. Aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of implementing
continuous care model on psychological outcomes in children undergoing abdominal surgery and mother's anxiety
level. Setting: This study was conducted at the surgical pediatric unit at Benha Specialized Pediatric Hospital
affiliated to the Ministry of Health. Design: A quasi experimental design was utilized for conducting the current
study. Subjects: 100 children accompanying their mothers were selected purposively and divided equally into
study and control groups. Tools of data collection: Four tools were used: Personal and medical assessment sheet,
children's fear scale, visual facial anxiety scale and Spielberger state anxiety inventory. Results: The results of this
study showed that 56% and 68% of children in the study group had significantly mild fear after 1 week, and 1
month of implementation of the care model compared to 26% and 22% in the control ones (P< 0.000). Meanwhile,
about more than half (52%) and more than two thirds (70%) of children in the study group experienced mild level
of anxiety after 1 week and 1 month of implementation of the care model compared to less than one quarter (16%
and 12% respectively) of the control ones. Besides, majority of mothers in the study group reported significantly
mild anxiety level after one week and one month of implementation of the care model compared to the control ones
(p˂0.000).Conclusion: The current study concluded that the continuous care model was efficient in decreasing the
level of anxiety and fear among children undergoing abdominal surgery as well as mother's anxiety level.
Recommendation: Implement continuous care model in surgical pediatric units which will help children along with
their mothers feel empowered and this will alleviate the risk of anxiety and fear. Future research is suggested to
compare the differences between continuous care model and other intervention |
