The Effect of Informative Animated Videos Watched Before Surgery on Anxiety and Fear in Children and Their Mothers

Overview

It is important to prepare children and their mothers psychologically for surgery. There are many initiatives to achieve this psychological preparation, including interactive educational booklets for children and their families, hospital tours, educational multimedia applications, web-based preparation programs, virtual reality applications, virtual tours, therapeutic games, hospital clowning, and educational coloring books. Among these initiatives, the immersive features of virtual reality glasses are seen as an effective method for distracting children from negative stimuli. Informing children before surgery is effective in increasing their sense of control during medical and surgical interventions. The information provided before surgery effectively reduces pain and fear in children. This research aims to reduce the anxiety and fear of children undergoing surgery and their mothers, as well as to facilitate the child's recovery after surgery. Additionally, reducing the mother's anxiety and fear will enable her to provide higher-quality care to her child during the postoperative process. This study will be conducted using a prospective randomized controlled study design, matching children according to gender, age, and minor surgical reason, to determine the effect of animated videos shown through virtual reality glasses before surgery on perioperative anxiety and fear in children and their mothers. The objectives of the study are: * The animated video to be shown will reduce children's and mothers' fear of surgery. * The animated video to be shown will reduce children's and mothers' perioperative anxiety.

Surgical procedures are difficult experiences that create stress and anxiety for children and their families. Children's dependence on others to fulfill their roles during the hospital stay and surgery can lead to a loss of control and anxiety. Furthermore, the disruption of physical integrity, pain, and discomfort can lead to stress and anxiety in children and their parents. Parental stress often manifests as anxiety, anger, fear, or apprehension. Children affected by their mothers' anxiety, who are their primary caregivers, may fear something bad will happen to them or that something is being hidden from them. Children's anxiety about surgery can lead to postoperative behavioral problems such as separation anxiety, eating disorders, nightmares, and enuresis. Reducing children's anxiety in the preoperative period is crucial to preventing negative postoperative outcomes. Preparations for this include interactive educational booklets, hospital tours, educational multimedia applications, web-based preparation programs, virtual reality applications, virtual tours, therapeutic games, hospital clowning, and educational coloring books, among many other initiatives. Among these interventions, the immersive features of virtual reality headset technology are seen as an effective method for distracting children from negative stimuli. Virtual reality slows down the response to pain and anxiety in children. Recent studies have used virtual reality headsets to increase children's comfort and familiarity with medical procedures and treatment environments, and technology-based preoperative preparation interventions have been reported to be effective in alleviating preoperative anxiety in children. The literature contains research findings on the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of methods used to reduce preoperative anxiety and fear in children. However, no studies have been found that evaluate the effects of animated videos shown to children on mothers and children. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of animated videos viewed through virtual reality headsets before surgery on perioperative anxiety and fear in children and their mothers.