An investigation of the effect of parental self-efficacy on preoperative anxiety on autonomy in children scheduled for minor surgery

Preoperative anxiety experienced by children who are scheduled for surgery negatively affects their orientation and compliance with anesthesia induction during hospitalization. Self-efficacy behaviors provided by parents for the needs of children in this process may facilitate children to cope with preoperative anxiety. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of parental self-efficacy on preoperative anxiety regarding the autonomy of children scheduled for minor surgery. In this cross-sectional and correlational study, 100 children aged 3-6 years and their parents who met the inclusion criteria were included. The population of the study consisted of children and their parents who were hospitalized in Bursa City Hospital Pediatric Surgery Clinic under Bursa Provincial Health Directorate. ''Descriptive Information Form'', ''Yale Modified Preoperative Anxiety Scale Child Form (YMPCASC)'', ''Parental Self-Efficacy Scale for Child Autonomy in Minor Surgery (PPSASC)'' were used to collect the data. Statistical analyses were performed using the SPSS (IBM SPSS Statistics 27) package program. Institutional permission was obtained from Pamukkale University Non-Interventional Clinical Research Medical Ethics Committee and Bursa Governorship Provincial Health Directorate City Hospital Chief Physician's Office for the conduct of the study. As a result of the study, it was proved that parental self-efficacy had an effect on preoperative anxiety (p<0,05), as parental self-efficacy increased, children's knowledge about the medical procedures to be performed on them increased (p<0.001), hospitalization history affected preoperative anxiety (p=0,024), and the presence of information about the procedures to be performed on the child decreased preoperative anxiety (p<0.001).