CONCERNS OF CHILD PATIENTS' PARENTS WHEN APPLYING TO THE HOSPITAL DURING THE PANDEMIC ERA

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to determine the frequency of parents who bring their children to the hospital during the pandemic era to experience anxiety about applying to the hospital and the factors affecting it. Method: A questionnaire was applied to 210 parents who applied to the general pediatric outpatient clinic. The questionnaire consisted of 23 questions about patient information, characteristics of applying to the hospital, and parents' anxiety about coming to the hospital. Data were analyzed with SPSS® 23.0 statistical program. Results: 210 parents participated in the study. It was determined that 45.2% of the parents (n=95) felt anxious when visiting the hospital. The parents' most common reason for anxiety was "at the hospital sharing the same environment with other patients" (76.8%). Parents concerned about applying to the hospital were approximately 2.3 times more likely to delay bringing their child to the hospital and disrupt their child's follow-up or routine control. Conclusions: Most parents are concerned about applying to the hospital, and this brings the risks of disrupted child follow-ups and delayed access of sick children to health services. It can be planned to establish telehealth units to identify families with high anxiety, follow up their children, identify situations requiring face-to-face meetings, and prevent delays.

Keywords

• Anxiety
• applying to hospital
• concern
• COVID-19
• hospital admissions
• pandemic
• parent

PANDEMİ SÜRECİNDE ÇOCUK HASTALARIN EBEVEYNLERİNİN HASTANEYE BAŞVURMAK İLE İLGİLİ TEDİRGİNLİK YAŞAMA DURUMLARI VE SEBEPLERİ

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı pandemi döneminde çocuklarını hastaneye getiren ebeveynlerin hastaneye başvurmak ile ilgili tedirginlik yaşama sıklığını ve buna etki eden etmenleri belirlemektir. Yöntem: Genel çocuk polikliniğine başvuran 210 ebeveyne anket uygulandı. Anket; hasta bilgilerini, hastaneye başvuru özelliklerini, hastaneye başvurma konusunda ailelerin tedirginlik yaşama durumlarını öğrenmeye yönelik 23 sorudan oluşmakta idi. Veriler SPSS® 23.0 (Statistical Package of Social Science) istatistik programı ile incelendi. Bulgular: Çalışmaya 210 ebeveyn katıldı. Ebeveynlerin %45,2’si (n=95) hastaneye gelirken tedirginlik yaşadığını belirtti. Ebeveynlerin en sık belirttiği tedirginlik sebebi “hastanede diğer hastalarla aynı ortamı paylaşmak”tı (%76,8). Ebeveynlerin %75,2’si (n=158) pandemi nedeni ile hastaneye gitme alışkanlığında değişiklik olduğunu belirtti ve bu oran hastaneye gelmekte tedirginlik duyan ebeveynlerde daha yüksekti (p<0,05). Hastaneye gelirken tedirginlik hisseden ebeveynlerde çocuğunu hastaneye getirmeyi geciktirme (OR: 2,30, 95% CI: 1,222-4,333, p<0,05) ve çocuğunun izlem ya da rutin kontrolünü aksatma riski (OR: 2,34, 95% CI: 1,289-4,254, p<0,05) tedirginliği olmayanlara göre yaklaşık 2,3 kat yüksekti. Sonuçlar: Ebeveynlerin büyük kısmı hastaneye başvurma konusunda tedirginlik hissetmektedir ve bu durum çocukların rutin izlemlerinin aksaması ve hasta çocukların sağlık hizmetlerine erişiminin gecikmesi risklerini beraberinde getirmektedir. Tedirginliği yüksek aileleri saptamak, çocuklarının takibini yapmak, yüz yüze görüşme gerektiren durumları saptayıp gecikmeleri önleyebilmek için tele-sağlık birimleri kurulması planlanabilir.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• ebeveyn
• hastaneye başvurmak
• endişe
• pandemi
• tedirginlik

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