Current Status of Psychosocial Intervention Research for Pediatric Outpatient Surgery

We reviewed 20 published studies of psychosocial interventions (i.e., preoperative preparation, parental presence) for children undergoing outpatient surgical procedures. The effectiveness of different intervention strategies on child and parent outcomes is summarized. Few positive effects were found for any of the psychosocial interventions. However, only a small number of randomized controlled trials were conducted and many of the studies using quasi-experimental designs had significant methodological problems that limited the interpretation of their findings. Research recommendations are described such as strengthening methodological rigor, making intervention strategies relevant to outpatient surgery, and using developmentally appropriate intervention strategies.