International Journal of Medical and Health Research

Authors
Sumathi PV, Dr. Sreedevi TR

Abstract
Pain is inevitable when a child undergoes surgery. General anaesthesia and surgery directly affect the respiratory system. The present study is aimed to determine the effectiveness of a pre-operative educational programme on pain and respiratory status of children undergoing elective abdominal surgery. An experimental research with post test only control group design was adopted to conduct the study. Purposive sampling technique was adopted to select the subjects. Sample size was 73, of which 34 children were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 39 children to the control group. Children between the ages of 7 and 15 waiting for elective abdominal surgeries and who were able to read the local language (Malayalam) were selected. The experimental group received the pre-operative educational programme whereas the control group received routine care. Pain was rated using numerical rating scale on the day of surgery and respiratory status was assessed using respiratory assessment scale on the first post operative day. The mean pain score and respiratory status score were lesser in the experimental group compared to the control group. The calculated t values for pain and respiratory status were 13.33 and 7.61 respectively which were statistically significant at p<.001. The pre-operative educational programme was found to be effective in reducing pain and preventing respiratory complications.