The Effect of WeChat on Parental Care Burden, Anxiety, and Depression in Children after CHD Surgery during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to explore the effect of applying WeChat in the follow-up and health education of children after congenital heart disease (CHD) surgery during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. Methods Data from 135 children were retrospectively analyzed. The care burden, anxiety, depression, and satisfaction of the parents of patients at home were analyzed and compared. Results One month after discharge, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire-18 scores of the WeChat follow-up group were significantly better than those of the outpatient follow-up group (p < 0.05). Compared with the discharge time, the SAS, SDS, and ZBI scores were significantly improved in the WeChat follow-up group but not in the outpatient follow-up group (p < 0.05). Conclusion During the COVID-19 epidemic, the application of WeChat to the follow-up management of children after CHD surgery can effectively reduce care burden and relieve anxiety and depression in parents at home. It can also improve the satisfaction of parents with medical treatment.

Impact of telemedicine on the mental status of parents of children with CHD: A meta‐analysis

“…Access to telemedicine intervention has been reported to result in a significant decrease in parental anxiety and depression, which enhanced their quality of life. [1][2][3][4][5][6]8,9,16 This is in accordance with the meta-analysis study. After the intervention, the SAS and SDS scores were considerably lower in the telemedicine group compared to the control group (p < 0.001).…”

“…Access to telemedicine intervention has been reported to result in a significant decrease in parental anxiety and depression, which enhanced their quality of life 1–6,8,9,16 . This is in accordance with the meta‐analysis study.…”

“…Several studies found that the parental level of satisfaction with telemedicine was significantly higher. 13,16 Health service costs were significantly lower in the videoconferencing group (p < 0.05). 13 Moreover, clinicians expressed more confidence in their ability to make medical assessments following obtaining videoconferencing support as opposed to telephone consultations.…”

“…When their children exhibited no symptoms, parents in the control group tended to disregard the disease and fail to take their children to the hospital. Several studies found that the parental level of satisfaction with telemedicine was significantly higher 13,16 . Health service costs were significantly lower in the videoconferencing group ( p < 0.05) 13 .…”

Parents’ understanding and attitudes toward the use of the WeChat platform for postoperative follow-up management of children with congenital heart disease

“…This study had some limitations: (1) This was a cross-sectional analysis with relatively small sample size. Our previous research results confirmed that using WeChat positively affected postoperative follow-up of children with CHD [ 3 , 25 , 28 ], and this study reported parents’ understanding and attitudes toward using WeChat in postoperative follow-up. Therefore, no change in patient outcome was included in this study.…”