A Cross Sectional Study to Identify Traumatic Stress, Medical Phobia and Non-Adherence to Medical Care among Very Young Pediatric Patients

Amichai Ben-Ari (), Yaron Sela, Shiri Ben-David, Yael L. E. Ankri, Fortu Benarroch and Roy Aloni
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Amichai Ben-Ari: Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel
Yaron Sela: School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
Shiri Ben-David: Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91240, Israel
Yael L. E. Ankri: Herman Dana Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem 91240, Israel
Fortu Benarroch: Herman Dana Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem 91240, Israel
Roy Aloni: Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University, Ariel 40700, Israel

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 2, 1-9

Abstract: After a traumatic medical event, such as surgery or hospitalization, a child may develop a phobia of medical care, sometimes preventing future medical adherence and impairing recovery. This study examined the correlation of Pediatric Medical Traumatic Stress (PMTS) on the development of Medical Phobia (MP) and subsequent treatment adherence. We enrolled 152 parents of children aged 1–6 hospitalized in a surgical ward. During hospitalization, parents completed questionnaires that identified post-traumatic stress symptoms. Four months post hospitalization, parents completed questionnaires on post-traumatic stress, medical phobia, psychosocial variables and medical adherence. We found a positive correlation between PMTS and MP and low adherence to medical treatment. In addition, MP mediated the relationship between PMTS severity and adherence, indicating that PMTS severity is associated with stronger medical phobia, and lower pediatric adherence to medical treatment. Our findings suggest that medical phobia serves as an essential component of PMTS. It is important to add medical phobia to medical stress syndrome definition. In addition, as MP and PMTS are involved in the rehabilitation and recovery process and subsequent success, it is an important aspect of treatment adherence.

Keywords: medical phobia; traumatic medical event; pediatric post-traumatic stress disorder (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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