A comparative study of the effect of video games and watching cartoons on the fear and pain caused by venipuncture in young children
Mostafa Hajializadeh, Seyedhamid Seyedbagheri, Tabandeh Sadeghi, Fariba Mazhari, Freshte Bahrami Khoshkar, Peiman Parandeh AfsharBACKGROUND:
Venipuncture is commonly accompanied by pain and fear among children. Thought diversion tools can help reduce their pain and fear. This study compared the effects of video games and watching cartoons on the fear and pain caused by venipuncture in children.
METHODS AND MATERIAL:
This semi-experimental study was conducted on 135 children admitted to Ali Ibn Abitaleb Hospital in Rafsanjan. The children were randomly divided into three groups. In the first intervention group, venipuncture was done after they watched a cartoon, and in the second intervention group, the child played the video game Pou for 8 min and no intervention for control group. Fear was measured using the Scary scale tool before and after the intervention, and pain was measured using the Oucher scale. Data analysis was done using SPSS version 22.0 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) utilizing descriptive statistics methods including mean and standard deviation, analytical statistics from ANOVA, and Chi-square test with a significance level less than 0.05.
RESULTS:
The results of the present study showed a statistically significant difference in the average fear score of children after the intervention between the cartoon and video game groups and the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the two intervention groups (
CONCLUSIONS:
Watching cartoons and video games reduces children’s fear and pain during venipuncture. Therefore, it is recommended these interventions be used to improve the outcomes of venipuncture.