Effects of preoperative at-home preparation on children's behavioral outcomes in Japan

• We determined the effects of at-home preparation program using videos and booklets.
• At-home preparation program had no negative effects for the children undergoing surgery.
• Children in the intervention group showed no higher upset in OR than the controls.
• They also showed no more negative behavioral changes after discharge than the controls.
• Over 90% of the caregivers in the intervention group expressed satisfaction with at-home preparation.

IntroductionThe objective of the study is to determine the effects of at-home psychological preparation mainly on adjustment in the aspect of children's behavior in a randomized controlled trial as an exploratory and pragmatic clinical trial.MethodsThe eligible patients were randomly assigned to either of two groups that both watched a preparation video once as outpatients in a group of other patients prior to hospitalization (“standard care”); the control group later underwent surgery without any further preparation; the experimental group watched the same video repeatedly in reference to an auxiliary booklet at home with their caregivers prior to hospitalization.ResultsNo beneficial impact of at-home preparation program was determined on the children's behavioral outcomes. However, children in the experimental group showed no higher upset in OR and no more negative behavioral changes after discharge than the controls. Over 90% of the caregivers in the experimental group expressed satisfaction with at-home preparation.DiscussionThese results suggested that at-home preparation program has no impact on the patients but resulted in high satisfaction from the caregivers in the experimental group.ConclusionAt-home preparation program using video and booklet had no beneficial impact on the behavioral outcomes of children undergoing minor surgery. However, it can be highly a desired program to prepare small children and their caregivers for surgical hospitalization.