title: Children's and adolescents' experiences while undergoing cardiac catheterization.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore the experiences of children and adolescents undergoing a cardiac catheterization.
  
  
  METHODS
  Caucasian children and adolescents (N = 24), 9-17 years, male and female, undergoing cardiac catheterization.
  
  
  METHODS
  Exploratory design utilizing content analysis. The authors used an interview guide with 4 subsections to elicit self-reports of knowledge, perceptions, emotions, and evaluations.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Major themes were anticipatory anxiety, pain, invasion of privacy, and being comforted. Many children had misconceptions or lack of knowledge of the procedure.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: University of Minnesota School of Nursing, MN, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pederson
authors.forename: B L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Harbaugh
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D006328:Cardiac Catheterization / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D016292:Procedural Sedation / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors