Comparison of three modeling procedures on the presurgical and postsurgical reactions of children

Abstract

Three different modeling programs were compared with a minimal preparation technique to assess their differential effectiveness in reducing children's adverse reactions to elective oral surgery. Forty-four children received informal preparation from the hospital staff and an opportunity to ask questions of the experimenter. In addition, the experimental groups viewed (a) a puppet model who presented information accurate to setting and order of medical procedures, (b) a local videotape with a live child actor who presented information accurate to setting and order of procedures, or (c) a commercial film with a live child patient which presented information concerning setting and order of procedures which was often inaccurate. Results demonstrated that all experimental modeling conditions were more effective in reducing anxiety and distress than the informal preparation received by the control group. There were no consistent differences among the three modeling programs in spite of differences in type of model (taped child vs. in vivo puppet), manner of presentation, setting, and order of procedures. The findings are discussed in terms of optimal implementation of hospital preparation programs.