Comparison of maternal anxiety scores in pediatric intensive care unit and general ward parents

Abstract

Background Hospitalization of a child is known to be a dreadful
and stressful situation for parents. One study reported that
admitting a child to a general ward caused mild anxiety to mothers,
while admitting a child to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)
caused moderate anxiety to mothers.
Objective To compare Hamilton anxiety scores of mothers whose
children were admitted to the PICU to those of mothers whose
children were admitted to the general ward.
Methods A cross-sectional study was done on mothers of
children aged 1 month-12 years. Children were admitted to
either the intensive care unit or the general ward from October
2010-January 2011. All subjects were assessed by Hamilton
anxiety scores and questioned for risk factors and other causes
of maternal anxiety. Consecutive sampling was used to allocate
the subjects. Differences were considered statistically significant
for P < 0.05.
Results Of the 72 subjects, the median Hamilton anxiety score in
mothers of children admitted to the PICU was 20.5 (interquartile
range 14-29.75), higher than that of mothers of children admitted
to the general ward (14, interquartile range 9-16.75). MannWhitney
U test revealed a statistically significant difference in
scores between the two groups (P = 0.DO1). Ancova multivariate
analysis showed the admission location to be the only significant
relationship to Hamilton anxiety score (P = 0.0001).
Conclusion Hamilton anxiety scores were higher for mothers
of children admitted to the PICU than that of mothers with
children admitted to the general ward. [Paediatr lndones.
2012;52:95-8].