The Effect of Occupational Therapy on the Level of State Anxiety in Hospitalized Children

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of occupational therapy on state anxiety in hospitalized children. Method: The research was carried out with the participation of 95 children between the ages of 7-17 who were hospitalized in the pediatric clinic of the university hospital in AugustSeptember 2020. The research was planned as quasiexperimental study. The children who accepted to participate in the study were pre-tested with the State Anxiety Inventory, and after the data were collected, occupational (making flowers from craft paper, making the branches and leaves of the flower, and finally making a bouquet) therapy was carried out. After all the procedures were completed, the State Anxiety Inventory was applied again as a post-test. Results: It was determined that 45.3% of the children participating in the study were boys and 54.7% were girls, their mean age was 11.49±1.91 and the duration of hospitalization was 5.21±4.34 days. It was determined that 19.9% of the children participating in the study were hospitalized with respiratory diseases, 15.8% endocrine, 10.7% nephrology, 14.6% liver diseases. The state anxiety pre-test mean scores of the children were measured as 50.88±11.63, and it was observed that the children had high anxiety, and in the post-test application, the state anxiety mean score was found to be 30.71±7.02, and the majority of the children reported low anxiety scores. Conclusion: It was found that the state anxiety of the children who spend time in the hospital is high, the occupational therapy affects the state anxiety levels positively, reduces the anxiety and allows the children to have fun in bed time. According to the results of the research, it is recommended to make easy practices that can be applied in clinics to reduce the anxiety of children and to apply the study in larger groups with different research designs.