Effect of therapeutic play based training program on pre- and post-operative anxiety and fear: A study on circumcision surgery in Turkish Muslim children

Abstract

Developmentally appropriate pre-surgical educational programs can help alleviate the anxiety of both children and parents. As one of the most common pediatric surgical procedures is circumcision; and they may experience anxiety and fear before and after this surgical procedure, this study is considered to make an important contribution to the literature. This study aimed to examine the effect of therapeutic play based training program on pre- and post-operative anxiety and fear levels of children aged 8-11 years who would undergo circumcision. This was a quasi-experimental study that consisted of a pre- and post-intervention and control groups; and concluded with 60 children aged 8-11 years (intervention group: 30 and no intervention/control group: 30). Child and Parent Information Form, Childhood Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI) and Fear for Medical Procedures Scale (FMPS) were used as data collection tools. Children in the intervention group applied a "therapeutic play-based training program" 2h before they underwent circumcision surgery. Therapeutic toys used in the educational program has designed by researchers. After the training program, children in the intervention group obtained lower CASI (preop t=6.383, p<.001; postop t=8.763, p<.001) and FMPS (preop t=6.331, p<.001; postop t=9.366, p<.001) total mean scores than those in the control group. This study was concluded that the therapeutic play based training program used to prepare children for circumcision surgery was effective in reducing their pre- and post-operative anxiety and medical fears. Considering that male circumcision is a religious and cultural necessity in Turkey, further studies can also examine whether the anxiety and medical fear scores differ in study groups that include children who are not Muslim or live in a different country, and whether the training program will be effective in reducing their anxiety and medical fears. A therapeutic play based training program can be used to prepare children for circumcision in the preoperative period.