Psychosocial needs of children undergoing an invasive procedure for a CHD and their parents

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the psychosocial needs of both parents of children with CHD (aged 0-18 years) and patients themselves (aged 8-18 years) in the week before cardiac surgery or a catheter intervention. Patients: Eligible participants included all consecutive patients (0-18 years) scheduled to undergo cardiac surgery or a catheter intervention in our hospital between March, 2012 and July, 2013. Psychosocial needs were assessed using a disease-specific questionnaire designed for this study, consisting of a 83-item parent version and a 59-item child version (for children. 8 years), each covering five domains: physical/ medical, emotional, social, educational/ occupational, and health behaviour; two items assessed from whom and in what format psychosocial care was preferred. Quality of life was also assessed. Interventions: If parents/ patients reported a need for psychosocial care, referral to adequate mental health-care professionals was arranged. Results: More than 40% of participating parents and > 50% of participating children reported a need for psychosocial care on each of the five domains. Needs for psychosocial care for parents themselves were highest for those with children aged 0-12 years. Parents and patients report clear preferences when asked from whom and in what format they would like to receive psychosocial care. Quality of life was relatively high for both parents and patients. Psychosocial care interventions in our hospital increased significantly after the implementation of this study. Conclusions: Results show that psychosocial care is rated as (very) important by both parents and children during an extremely stressful period of their life.