O0434 Oct.5: 2:16pm - Coping mechanisms for parents with children in pediatric hospitalization units: development of multimodal means to support parents (first phase)

Background
Parents face a traumatic experience when their child is hospitalized. The consequences of this experience can be harmful to the physical and emotional health of the parents, the child, and the functioning of the family. Very few parental interventions are described in the literature to support parents, but the results are inconsistent. Identifying common coping skills during these times allows this information to be used to support parents. In this study we identified coping skills for parents (first phase) to develop a comic book (second phase) that allows parents to learn/understand/remember positive ways to cope with stress.

Methods:
The present study shows the first phase of a study to investigate the coping profile in a sample of 258 parents of pediatric patients using the COPE Brief Scale. This scale measures coping strategies (emotion- and problem-centered) and maladaptive (dysfunctional) strategies used by individuals to cope with stress. This cross-sectional study used a convenience sample of parents that was collected during their visit to general pediatric outpatient clinics or inpatient units that included general pediatrics, neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, and hematology-oncology inpatient units.

The results:
Mean values of the adaptive and maladaptive coping scales increased when the clinic was compared to the floor and critical units. The use of dysfunctional parental coping mechanisms in the intensive units was similar to or significantly higher than the scores achieved by adults with serious medical and emotional conditions, including patients diagnosed with Crohn's disease, anxiety, depression and PTSD. Denial and self-distraction strategies were significantly higher in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units, as well as in inpatient hematology-oncology units (p<.001).

Conclusion:
Parental coping information, such as the use of the self-distraction mechanism in the first phase of the study, provides crucial data for the development of the multimodal educational format (comic book). The development of educational material aimed directly at parents, in order to promote positive ways of coping, is an avenue to support them. In the second phase we will determine the impact of the material produced in the multimodal format that resulted from this first phase