The Effect of Animal-assisted Practice Applied to Hospitalised Children on Children's Anxiety, Fear, Psychological and Emotional Well-being
Condition: Child Mental Disorder
MeSH terms: Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      In the normal development stage, children become ill for various reasons and maybe
      hospitalised. Illnesses and hospitalization are major sources of stress for any growing
      child. In addition to being admitted to the hospital, unknown environment, unknown people in
      this environment, unknown equipment, scary voices, thought of physical harm, fears such as
      separation from the family, etc. Different degrees of stress occur for reasons. In addition
      to these, children face many problems related to physical limitations caused by
      hospitalization due to illness, and they experience negative emotions such as anxiety, fear,
      and anxiety. On the day the child is admitted to the hospital, the child and his family
      experience high levels of anxiety. Children's anxiety and fear may negatively affect their
      ability to understand the explanations to be made correctly, to interpret events
      realistically, to make appropriate decisions, and to participate in care. Various treatment
      methods such as therapeutic games, art therapy, drawing, occupational therapy,
      animal-assisted practices/activities (HDU) are applied in the hospital environment to improve
      the child's coping skills and to reduce negative emotions such as pain, anxiety, stress, and
      fear. The animal-assisted practice is activities that offer various opportunities to improve
      the quality of life and provide entertainment and therapeutic benefits. Although the use of
      animal-assisted applications is widespread abroad, its use in our country and the rate of
      reflection on the results of the study is quite limited. In the researches, interaction with
      such animals; has been determined to be psychologically, emotionally, socially, and
      physically supportive in children. It is planned to use goldfish in this study. Aquarium fish
      is one of the ornamental fish sold in more than 125 countries and more than 2500 species
      globally. No study has been conducted on the effects of aquarium fish, which are reported to
      have positive effects and provide calming when applied with adult age groups within the scope
      of animal-assisted practices, on anxiety, fear, psychological and emotional well-being in
      children treated in a clinical setting. This study will be conducted to examine the effects
      of animal-assisted practice on anxiety, fear, the psychological and emotional well-being of
      children hospitalised.
    


Intervention name(s): Animal Assisted Practice
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): The children, who were planned to be hospitalized for at least three days and were randomized to the experimental and control groups, were asked by the researcher using the face-to-face interview technique, and the questions in the patient information form were filled in on the form. Then, pre-test data were recorded by determining their anxiety levels with the State Anxiety Scale for Children, levels of fear with the Child Fear Scale, emotional and psychological well-being with the Stirling Children's Emotional and Psychological Well-being Scale. Unlike the other scales, the anxiety levels were assessed twice with one-hour intervals on the first day with the Children's State Anxiety Scale. On the third day, the anxiety levels were evaluated twice with one-hour intervals on the first day using the State Anxiety Scale for Children. The second group, the children in the control group, had the same procedure except for the intervention; but no intervention was made.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Factorial Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Supportive Care
Keywords: Animal Assisted Practice; Goldfish; Hospitalisation; Anxiety; Fear; Emotional Well-being; Psychological Well-being; Nursing