Ideas That Work: Tech for Toddlers

Ideas That Work

By: Outpatient Surgery Editors

Published: 9/1/2020

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Music and Movies Put Kids at Ease


Surgery can be a scary thing, especially for kids, so I tested different ways to reduce the anxiety of pediatric patients who were having their tonsils and adenoids removed at Dayton (Ohio) Children’s Hospital. When these patients arrived in recovery, we started playing classical music, which they would hear until they awoke from anesthesia.

TOUCHDOWN POINT The Andy Dalton Foundation donated 25 iPads and a docking station to further improve the care of the hospital's pediatric patients.   |  Jenny Ingle, DNP, RN
The hospital’s child life department also supplied iPads loaded with movies such as Disney’s Frozen and child-appropriate games, which children watched and played while in recovery. We noticed that the classical music and utilization of the iPads helped patients emerge from anesthesia quicker and nurses weren’t administering as many doses of pain medicine. It was clear patients and their family members felt less stress and anxiety during the recovery process. We also saw a 10- to 30-minute decrease in patients’ post-op stays. Because the results of the study were so successful, we reached out to the Andy Dalton Foundation, a local charitable organization that supplied the hospital with an additional 25 iPads, a docking station and a cabinet in which to keep everything.

 

Jenny Ingle, DNP, RN
Indiana University—Purdue University Columbus
Columbus, Ind.
[email protected]

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