The Effect of Performing Preoperative Preparation Program on School Age Children's Anxiety

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine effects of performing preoperative preparation program on children's anxiety.
Methods: This study was performed in Amirkola Pediatrics Hospital, Mazandaran. A randomized controlled trail was performed on 122 children (7-12 years of age) admitted for elective surgery during 15 months.  The researcher randomly assigned eligible participants in to the experimental and control groups, after pre-test baseline measurement had been taken. Analyzing was performed through independent t-test and χ2 test. P<0.005 was considered statistically significant. The experimental group received therapeutic play and the control group received routine preoperative information preparation.
Findings: The mean and standard deviation of the state anxiety scores of children in experimental and control groups before intervention were 35.52±6.99 and 34.98±6.78, after intervention 31.44±5.87 and 38.31±7.44 respectively. The state anxiety score was lower significantly in the experimental group prior to preoperative surgery than in the control group (P=0.000).
Conclusion: Performing preoperative program with using therapeutic play intervention is effective for preparing children before surgery and decreases their anxiety.