The Impact of Baby-Doll-Assisted Therapeutic Play on Fear, Anxiety and Pain During Peripheral Venous Catheterization in 4-6 Year-Old Children

Objective: The study was performed to investigate the impact of demonstrating and expressing the peripheral venous catheter practice on doll-assisted therapeutic play on children aged between 4 to 6 years. Parents who agreed to participate in the study and 98 children who met the selection criteria were included in the study. Methods: The procedure was explained to the children who were included in the study on a doll-assisted therapeutic play before peripheral venous catheter placement. In the study, Children's Fear Scale (CFS), Children’s State Anxiety (CSA) and Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale were applied before and after the procedure. Moreover, the effect of the applied procedure on pulse and respiratory rate was evaluated. Results: The sociodemographic characteristics of children in the experimental and control groups are similar. After the intervention, the fear, anxiety and pain levels of the children in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group. While the pulse rate did not show a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups, the respiratory rate was found to be significantly lower. Although the anxiety levels of the children in the experimental group were higher than those in the control group before the procedure, the anxiety levels of the children in the experimental group were lower after the procedure. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that explaining the peripheral venous catheter procedure using a doll-assisted therapeutic play significantly reduced fear, anxiety, and post-procedure pain levels in children aged 4 to 6, as measured by the CFS, CSA, and Wong-Baker FACES scales.