Yuval H Bloch1, Asaf Toker. 1. Pediatrics Division, Soroka University Medical Center, Israel.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Children report various types of fear in the context of hospitalization, such as fear of separation from the family, having injections and blood tests, staying in the hospital for a long time, and being told "bad news" about their health. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of the "Teddy Bear Hospital" method on preschool children's fear of future hospitalization. METHODS: The study group comprised 41 preschool children aged 3-6.5 years (mean 5.1 +/- 0.7 years), and 50 preschool children, age matched and from a similar residential area, served as the control group. Assessment included a simple one-item visual analog scale of anxiety about hospitalization. This was assessed individually one day prior to the intervention and again a week after the intervention in both groups. RESULTS: While baseline levels of anxiety were not different between groups [t(89) = 0.4, NS], children in the "Teddy Bear Hospital" group reported significantly lower levels of anxiety than the control group at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that by initiating a controlled pain-free encounter with the medical environment in the form of a "Teddy Bear Hospital", we can reduce children's anxiety about hospitalization.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND:Children report various types of fear in the context of hospitalization, such as fear of separation from the family, having injections and blood tests, staying in the hospital for a long time, and being told "bad news" about their health. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of the "Teddy Bear Hospital" method on preschool children's fear of future hospitalization. METHODS: The study group comprised 41 preschool children aged 3-6.5 years (mean 5.1 +/- 0.7 years), and 50 preschool children, age matched and from a similar residential area, served as the control group. Assessment included a simple one-item visual analog scale of anxiety about hospitalization. This was assessed individually one day prior to the intervention and again a week after the intervention in both groups. RESULTS: While baseline levels of anxiety were not different between groups [t(89) = 0.4, NS], children in the "Teddy Bear Hospital" group reported significantly lower levels of anxiety than the control group at follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that by initiating a controlled pain-free encounter with the medical environment in the form of a "Teddy Bear Hospital", we can reduce children's anxiety about hospitalization.
Authors: Rebecca Ortiz La Banca; Deborah A Butler; Lisa K Volkening; Lori M Laffel Journal: J Pediatr Health Care Date: 2020-04-03 Impact factor: 1.812
Authors: Lindsay T Ives; Kate Stein; Alannah M Rivera-Cancel; Julia K Nicholas; Kristen Caldwell; Nandini Datta; Christian Mauro; Helen Egger; Eve Puffer; Nancy L Zucker Journal: Children (Basel) Date: 2021-05-27