Knowledge and Anxiety Levels of Parents of Children Admitted to the Emergency Department due to Intoxication.

INTRODUCTION

This descriptive and correlational study aimed to determine the knowledge and anxiety levels of parents of children who presented to the emergency department due to intoxication.

METHODS

The study was conducted between January 2024 and April 2025 with the parents of 96 children aged 1-6 years who were brought to the pediatric emergency department of a university hospital in Konya, Turkey, due to intoxication. Data were collected using a Sociodemographic Information Form for Parents and Children, an Intoxication Information Form, and the State Anxiety Inventory. Ethical committee approval, institutional permission, and informed consent from the parents were obtained. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 26 statistical software, employing frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, median, minimum and maximum values, Cronbach's alpha, t test, analysis of variance, Bonferroni, Pearson correlation, and regression analysis. A P value < .05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

It was determined that 63.5% of the parents participating in the study were mothers, and 59.4% were under 35 years of age. Additionally, 8.3% of the children had a prior history of poisoning, 66.7% were between 1-3 years old, 54.2% were brought to the hospital within the first 30 minutes, and 66.7% were poisoned because of drugs. Parents' knowledge of intoxication was found to be at a moderate level, with a score of 18.65 (2.92), and their situational anxiety was at a mild level, with a score of 49.54 (12.42). The study found that parents over 35 years of age, parents with a primary/secondary school education, and parents living in towns/villages had higher levels of knowledge about intoxication than others. Anxiety levels were found to be higher in mothers than in fathers and in parents over 35 than in those under 35 (P < .05). A significant negative correlation was found between parents' knowledge of intoxication and their situational anxiety scores (r = -0.411; P < .05).

DISCUSSION: The study concluded that as parents' knowledge of intoxication increases, their situational anxiety levels decrease. Based on these results, it is recommended that parents be informed about intoxication and be included in educational programs for preschool groups.