Language, literacy and reassurance: do videos calm the anxious child or caregiver?

Abstract

Preoperative anxiety in children is a significant and well-recognised problem. It is associated with adverse behavioural outcomes, increased analgesic requirements, and prolonged recovery times, placing an additional burden on both the perioperative team and the child’s family.^1,2 This challenge has motivated anaesthetists and surgical teams to investigate various strategies to mitigate anxiety, ranging from sedative premedication to parental presence and child-friendly preoperative environments.^3-5 Among the more recent innovations is the use of audiovisual media as an educational and distraction tool, a concept particularly appealing in the era of smartphones and digital accessibility.