It aims to examine the effects of stress ball and book reading methods on children's fear and anxiety levels during inhalation.
Ninety-nine volunteer children aged 5-6 who will receive inhalation therapy will be randomly assigned to three groups: stress ball, storybook reading, and control. Children will be assessed before, during, and after the procedure. Inhalation-related fear will be assessed using the Children's Fear Scale, and anxiety will be assessed using the Children's State Anxiety Scale. Furthermore, children's demographic data will be recorded on the Information Form.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
99
Children arriving at the hospital's emergency department and meeting the study criteria will be randomly assigned to the stress ball group. Before inhalation therapy, the child will begin squeezing the chosen stress ball. This will distract their attention, transforming the frightening hospital environment into a fun one. The questionnaires will be completed by the nurse and family five minutes before, during, and after the inhalation therapy.
The storybook for the children will be selected by child psychologists. The book will be read to the children by their parents. The storybook reading will begin 15 minutes before the inhalation therapy and will be completed before the treatment begins. The storybook will be read to the children only once.
Erzurum City Hospital
Erzurum, Center, Turkey (Türkiye)
Demographic Information Form
It is a form consisting of a total of 13 questions including the child's age, gender, diagnosis, duration of treatment, number of treatments (How many times did the child come to the clinic?), the status of receiving information about dental treatment and the person who received the information, the education level and occupation of the mother and father, the place where the family lives and the economic situation. It was prepared by the researchers in line with the literature.
Time frame: Baseline
Child anxiety Scale-State
"Child Anxiety Scale-State" scale developed by Ersig et al. in 2013 measures the state anxiety of children aged 4-10 years. In 2017, Gerceker et al. carried out Turkish validity study for the scale. CAS-S (State) is designed as a thermometer. At the bottom is the bulb chamber, and upward are horizontal lines. Each horizontal line represents a score, and the thermometer has 10 points. The bulb chamber at the bottom is 0 points and indicates that there is no anxiety. It is interpreted as the rise of anxiety as it rises upwards. The peak is worth 10 points and refers to the highest anxiety.
Time frame: Baseline and up to 4 weeks
Child Fear Scale
This scale was developed by McMurtry et al. in 2011. In 2018, Gerceker et al. carried out a Turkish validity study for the scale. The scale is aimed at children aged 5-10 years. The facial muscle changes in fearful expressions are drawn by a graphic artist based on photos of frightened faces. In this scale, the child is shown a scale containing five facial expressions that are evaluated between 0 and 4 points. While 0 point refers to no fear; 4 points refers to the highest fear.
Time frame: Baseline and up to 4 weeks
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