Evaluate of anxiety status of children hospitalized for acute or chronic diseases and their mothers

Abstract

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the anxiety status of children hospitalized for acute or chronic diseases and their mothers. Method: This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study. The study was carried out in 6-17 age group children and their mothers who were admitted to the Child and Infant Clinic of Çaycuma State Hospital in Zonguldak between August 1 and October 31, 2019. The study was completed with 225 children and 225 mothers. “Child and Mother Information Form”, “The Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI)” and “The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI)” were used as data collection tools in the study. Results: In the study, the mean CASI general score was 35.70±4.94, and the mean BAI general score was 21.35±6.16. A positive correlation was found between CASI and BAI (p = 0.011). In the study, no statistical difference was found between the anxiety level of children with acute disease and the anxiety level of children with chronic disease (p=0.072). There was a statistically significant difference between mothers’ anxiety levels according to the acute or chronic disease diagnosis status of the children (p <0.001). Conclusion: This study revealed that both children and their mothers suffer from moderate level of anxiety during their stay at the hospital. It was concluded that the anxiety levels of mothers of the children diagnosed with acute disease were significantly higher than the anxiety levels of children with chronic disease. In addition, it was found out that the gender, age and educational status of the children affected the anxiety levels of the children. Another conclusion was that family type, educational status, employment status and the presence of children other than the hospitalized child affected the anxiety levels of the mothers.