Impact of parental presence on stress reduction in children undergoing medical procedures
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70577/asce.v5i2.787Keywords:
parental presence, childhood stress, medical procedures, pediatric anxiety, family-centered care.Abstract
This article analyzed the impact of parental presence on stress reduction in children undergoing medical procedures, aiming to understand the extent to which parental support acted as a protective factor in pediatric care. A systematic literature review was conducted, searching for studies published between 2020 and 2026 in internationally relevant scientific databases. Articles were selected using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, prioritizing research related to anxiety, childhood stress, parental presence, and pediatric medical procedures. The findings showed that parental presence tended to be associated with a decrease in childhood stress and anxiety, although this effect was not uniform across all clinical contexts. The results showed greater benefit when parental support was active, guided by healthcare personnel, or combined with complementary strategies such as distraction or emotional preparation. Furthermore, the study identified that the caregiver's own anxiety influenced the child's emotional response, which explains some of the heterogeneity observed in the literature. It was concluded that parental presence was a promising non-pharmacological strategy for reducing childhood emotional distress, provided it was implemented in a planned manner and within a family-centered care model. The need for future research with more homogeneous designs and a greater diversity of clinical contexts was also acknowledged.
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