Measurement of anxiety in 3-9 year old children receiving nursing intervention

Abstract

Introduction: Nurses are in an ideal position to provide special care for anxious children admitted in hospital wards. Thus, the objectives of the study were to identify the common nursing procedures done for children and to measure their level of anxiety. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted at a district hospital in Philippines. The respondents of the study were 235 children aged 3 – 9 years old admitted in the pediatric ward. The descriptive characteristics of the children were recorded. Venham Picture Test was used to assess the level of anxiety in children. The instrument was validated using the Good and Scates criteria and pre-tested on 30 pediatric respondents. The chi-square test and t-test were used to determine the significance of difference between the scores given by the children across different age groups and the P-value was set at 0.05. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 5.1 (3.5) years. Males obtained an "average" mean score of anxiety 4.0 (2.0) whilst females demonstrated a "low" mean score of anxiety 3.6 (2.3). There was a highly statistical difference between the mean anxiety scores amongst patients who had a prior experience and those who had none. Conclusion: Temperature measurement and pulse measurement were the most common procedures performed on children and demonstrated very low level of anxiety. Peripheral cannula insertion caused the maximum anxiety amongst all the procedures performed. Children aged 3 to 4 years old demonstrated the maximum anxiety when compared to children aged 5 to 9 years.

Effect of Lemongrass Essential Oil as Aromatherapy Agent on Dental Anxiety in Children: A Cross-sectional Study

“…It has been suggested that the most comprehensive assessment of anxiety should involve the use of a combination of behavioral, physiological, and self-report measurement techniques. 1 A self-report measure employing pictures would serve better to young children. Hence, the present investigation employed a combination of psychometric test and biological markers for the assessment of anxiety.…”

“…Further, there is evidence to infer that children are more anxious than adults when they receive medical treatment and care. 1 Anxiety is defined as a nonspecific feeling of apprehension, worry, uneasiness, or dread, the source of which may be vague or unknown. Dental anxiety has been defined as "abnormal fear or dread of visiting the dentist for preventive care or therapy and unwarranted anxiety over dental procedures."…”

A Magic Therapy Program to Alleviate Anxiety in Pediatric Inpatients

“…The VPT is a validated measure of state anxiety in pediatric patients aged .2 years. [13][14][15] The test consists of a series of 8 cards, each consisting of 2 child figures, 1 "anxious" and 1 "nonanxious." Subjects were shown the cards in a predetermined numerical order and asked to point to the figure that they felt like most at the time.…”

The effect of storytelling on fear in school-age children during hospitalization

“…The in research that children who have had previous experiences of being treated have a greater level of anxiety and fear than children who have never been treated before. 18,19 Analysis of the care class with the fear score after the intervention obtained P value>0.05 so that there was no difference in the relationship between treatment class and the decrease in the hospitalization fear score. In grade 2 or grade 3 the child care room consists of 3-4 patients in one room so that the child's needs for socialization can still be met.…”