Effects of Cartoons and Mobile Games on Preoperative Anxiety and Fear in Children With Appendicitis: An RCT
Apandisit Tanısı Ile Cerrahi Servise Yatırılan Çocuklarda Preoperatif Kaygı ve Korkunun Azaltılmasında Çizgi Film ve Mobil Oyunların Etkisi: Randomize Kontrollü Bir Araştırma
Ankara City Hospital Bilkent
69 participants
Oct 10, 2025
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
his study aims to evaluate the effects of cartoon viewing and mobile game playing on preoperative anxiety and fear levels in children aged 7-12 years who are hospitalized for appendicitis surgery. The study is designed as a randomized controlled trial with three groups: a cartoon group, a mobile game group, and a control group receiving routine care. Children in the intervention groups will watch a cartoon or play a mobile game for 10 minutes before surgery. Anxiety and fear levels will be measured using validated scales before and after the intervention. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to atraumatic care practices by providing simple and effective non-pharmacological methods to reduce preoperative anxiety and fear in children.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria5
- Being hospitalized in the Pediatric Surgery Service with a diagnosis of appendicitis.
- Being between the ages of 7 and 12 years.
- Voluntary consent/assent from both the child and their parents to participate in the study.
- Absence of any visual, auditory, or cognitive problems that prevent communication.
- Not having received any analgesics before the intervention.
Exclusion Criteria4
- Refusal to participate in the study voluntarily.
- Having a condition that prevents communication due to vision, hearing, speech, or mental health status.
- Being in an agitated state or unable to cooperate.
- Having received analgesics due to pain before the study.
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Interventions
Participants will watch the cartoon titled "Şüko is Having Surgery," which explains the surgical process in child-friendly language, on an iPad Mini 6 with headphones for 10 minutes.
Children will be asked to play a game of their choice for 10 minutes on a tablet from among games selected according to their age group and PEGI standards (Head Ball 2, Subway Surfers, and Magic Tiles 3).
Locations(1)
View Full Details on ClinicalTrials.gov
For the most up-to-date information, visit the official listing.
NCT07640230