title: Caregiver anxiety due to interstage feeding concerns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Improved weight gain during the interstage (IS) period has been shown to improve overall outcomes in patients with single ventricle physiology (SVP). This emphasis on nutrition may have untoward effects, such as increasing anxiety/stress levels in caregivers, who are already known to be at risk for increased anxiety/stress levels. The goal of this study was to evaluate anxiety/stress levels of caregivers as it pertains to feeding during the IS period and to determine if certain characteristics were associated with higher anxiety/stress scores.
  
  
  METHODS
  Caregivers of children with SVP who completed the IS period, defined as the time between the first and second cardiac surgeries, were recruited. Baseline demographics were obtained. Anxiety/stress levels were measured via eight questions using a 0- to 10-point scale. Correlations were performed between demographic variables and anxiety/stress level scores.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-six surveys were completed (39 males, 27 females) on 43 children. Fourteen children required tube feeds during the IS period. There were significant correlations between anxiety/stress scores and caregiver's gender, caregiver's age, caregiver's level of education, percent of time a caregiver spent feeding the child, if caregivers were taking medications for anxiety, and if the child was seen in the emergency room during the IS period. There were no correlation of anxiety/stress scores with caregiver's race, child's underlying cardiac diagnosis, age of child, route of feeding during the IS period, birth order of the child or number of children in the family, relationship status, or distance from the hospital.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In general, caregivers of children with SVP experience anxiety/stress during the IS period specifically due to feeding concerns. Certain intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics were associated with higher anxiety/stress levels. Future studies are needed to determine how to minimize anxiety/stress levels during this stressful time period.
authors: Heart Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
authors: Jamie
authors: J
authors: Stewart
authors: Robert
authors: R
authors: Dempster
authors: Robin
authors: R
authors: Allen
authors: Holly
authors: H
authors: Miller-Tate
authors: Gabrielle
authors: G
authors: Dickson
authors: Samantha
authors: S
authors: Fichtner
authors: Alex J
authors: AJ
authors: Principe
authors: Rachel
authors: R
authors: Fonseca
authors: Lisa
authors: L
authors: Nicholson
authors: Clifford L
authors: CL
authors: Cua
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005248:Feeding Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010351:Patient Discharge; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Anxiety; Hypoplastic Left Heart; Interstage; Nutrition; Single Ventricle