| Abstract | Children frequently undergo procedures with anesthesia, an anxiety-provoking time for families. Unfortunately, there is limited research on the peri-anesthesia experience in families with language barriers. Research gaps include factors of child behavioral change post-anesthesia. The purpose of this pilot project is to explore post-anesthesia behavior change among children ages 7-12 years in Spanish-speaking families and to determine feasibility of a study protocol for this population. Research questions are: What types of behavior change occur, is there a correlation between anesthesia duration and behavior change, and is there a correlation between premedication and behavior change. Participants will be enrolled at the pre-anesthesia clinic visit in a large pediatric specialty center. Of 4 study time points (pre-anesthesia, day of procedure, telephone follow-up at 2 and 4 weeks after anesthesia), this project will focus on the follow-up visits, utilizing the Post Hospitalization Behavior Questionnaire (PHBQ), medical record reviews, and cognitive interviews. Certified medical language services will be utilized for each visit. At 2 weeks post-anesthesia, there were 19 participants, and there were 16 participants at 4 weeks. Parent responses indicate postoperative behavior change from 2 to 4 weeks post anesthesia in the form of disinterest in surroundings, needing help doing things, difficulty for their child to talk to them, bad dreams, and trouble falling to sleep. There was no significant correlation between anesthesia and behavior change (p=.968). There was no significant correlation between premedication and behavior change (p=.945). Cognitive interviews reveal no reported parental difficulties with the PHBQ. These results could be used to inform anticipatory guidance for families during the peri-anesthesia experience. |
