Children's and adolescents' experiences while undergoing cardiac catheterization.

PROBLEM

To explore the experiences of children and adolescents undergoing a cardiac catheterization.

SUBJECTS

Caucasian children and adolescents (N = 24), 9-17 years, male and female, undergoing cardiac catheterization.

METHOD

Exploratory design utilizing content analysis. The authors used an interview guide with 4 subsections to elicit self-reports of knowledge, perceptions, emotions, and evaluations.

FINDINGS

Major themes were anticipatory anxiety, pain, invasion of privacy, and being comforted. Many children had misconceptions or lack of knowledge of the procedure.

CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Nurses' knowledge of the impact on children and adolescents of a cardiac catheterization room, high-technology equipment, and invasive procedures may increase their sensitivity to children's and adolescents' perceptions of the experiences and promote individualized nursing care.