Doctor, is my teddy bear okay? The "Teddy Bear Hospital" as a method to reduce children's fear of hospitalization.

摘要: Background Children report various types of fear in the context hospitalization, such as separation from family, having injections and blood tests, staying hospital for a long time, being told "bad news" about their health. Objectives To examine effects "Teddy Bear Hospital" method on preschool children's future hospitalization. Methods The study group comprised 41 children aged 3-6.5 years (mean 5.1 +/- 0.7 years), 50 children, age matched similar residential area, served control group. Assessment included simple one-item visual analog scale anxiety This was assessed individually one day prior to intervention again week after both groups. Results While baseline levels were not different between groups [t(89) = 0.4, NS], reported significantly lower than at follow-up. Conclusions Our results indicate that by initiating controlled pain-free encounter with medical environment form Hospital", we can reduce