How hospital tours affect anxiety in mothers with children undergoing open-heart surgery in Iran

Parents tend to experience considerable amounts of anxiety before their children undergo open heart surgery and this anxiety leads to numerous negative outcomes for both the children and the parents. This study was conducted to assess the effects of taking a hospital tour on preoperative anxiety in the mothers of children undergoing open heart surgery. This quasi-experimental study was carried out on the mothers of toddlers who were open heart surgery candidates at Shahid Modarres Hospital in Iran. Ninety-six mothers were assigned to three groups using simple randomization. The oral instruction group (N=32) attended two oral instruction sessions; the hospital tour group (N=32) participated in tours of the operation room and intensive care unit; the control group (N=32) was prepared according to the ward’s routine. Preoperative anxiety was evaluated using the Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS) and the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Data were analyzed in SPSS-20. The results showed that the mothers’ anxiety about surgery (F=30.99, P≤0.001) and their scores of state anxiety (F=6.02, P<0.001) differed significantly between the three groups after the intervention. A significant difference was observed between the oral instruction and control groups (P<0.001) and the hospital tour and control groups (P<0.001) regarding the surgery-related anxiety scores. A significant difference was also observed between the oral instruction and control groups (P=0.002) regarding the mothers’ state anxiety scores. Preparing mothers by oral instructions is more effective in reducing surgery-related anxiety and state anxiety before toddlers’ open heart surgery.