Preparing Parents to be Present for Their Child's Anesthesia Induction: A Randomized Control Effectiveness Trial

Children are distressed at anesthesia induction and this distress can result in maladaptive recovery outcomes. Having parents be present at anesthesia induction (PPIA) has been suggested as a potential intervention to decrease children's distress, and this intervention is widely favored by parents. However, to date, PPIA has not been found to be effective in reducing children's anxiety. The lack of efficacy may be attributable to the fact that parents have generally not been prepared for PPIA. The one study that prepared parents (as part of a larger preoperative preparation program) found that PPIA with preparation was superior to PPIA as previously studied (without preparation). Unfortunately, this program is resource intensive and therefore is not clinically feasible. This study will compare PPIA with a clinically feasible preparation program to PPIA with standard care (minimal preparation). Should our intervention show evidence of efficacy, the investigators will have designed a program that is easily translatable to everyday clinical practice. This will, in turn, reduce children's anxiety, improve postoperative outcomes and increase parental satisfaction.