Anxiety levels and related factors of parents of medical technology dependent children in the pediatric intensive care unit

ANXIETY LEVELS AND RELATED FACTORS OF PARENTS OF MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY DEPENDENT CHILDREN IN THE PEDIATRIC INTENSIVE CARE UNIT Sarıoğlu Duran B. Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Institute of Health Sciences, Master's Program in Child Health and Disease Nursing, Master's Thesis, Aydın, 2025. Aim: The aim of this descriptive study is to determine the anxiety levels of parents of medically technology-dependent children hospitalized in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) and to examine the relationship between their anxiety levels and influencing factors. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted with 131 parents (mother and/or father) of medically technology-dependent children aged 0-18 who were hospitalized in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of Marmara University Pendik Training and Research Hospital. The data were collected between July 12, 2022, and November 23, 2023. The parents included in the study were informed about the research and provided written consent. Data were collected using the Parent Information Form, Child Information Form, and State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). Descriptive statistics were used in the study. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to assess the normality of data distribution. For data analysis, the Student's t-test was used to compare two independent groups, and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare three or more groups. After one-way analysis of variance, Tukey test was applied to examine which group caused the significant difference. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The mean score of the SAI among participating parents was found to be 52.90 ± 9.72 (min-max = 20.00–77.00). While there was a statistically significant difference in SAI scores based on the parents' age groups (p<0.05), no significant differences were found based on other sociodemographic characteristics (p>0.05). Similarly, no significant differences were observed in SAI scores based on whether the parents visited their hospitalized child or participated in their care (p>0.05). However, parents of children who had previously been admitted to intensive care, had a chronic illness, had a higher Glasgow Coma Score, or had been in the intensive care unit for 8 days or longer had significantly lower SAI scores compared to parents of children without these characteristics (p<0.05). Conclusion: While younger parental age negatively affected the anxiety levels of parents of medically technology-dependent children admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit, other sociodemographic characteristics did not influence their anxiety levels. Parents of children with previous intensive care experience, a chronic illness, a higher level of consciousness, or who had been hospitalized in the intensive care unit for eight days or more reported lower levels of anxiety. Key Words: Anxiety, child, intensive care, medical technology, parent