Relationship between visitation policy in a pediatric intensive unit and parental anxiety.

The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of anxiety of mothers with children in pediatric intensive care units with different types of visitation policies, both structural and individualized. Forty subjects were obtained from two children's hospitals. A comparative research design was used. Data showed that mothers who experiences individualized visitation had significantly lower anxiety scores (p less than .005) than mothers who experiences structured visitation. Findings also revealed that mothers viewed their child's illness as less severe when individualized visitation was permitted as opposed to structured visitation.