The effect of reading fairy tales and coloring on children's fear level and parental health care satisfaction in children aged 3-6 years who are administered inhaler drugs

Background and Aim: Inhalation therapy is frequently preferred because the drug is applied directly to the lungs, has a rapid effect in a short time, is non-invasive, and has few side effects. However, the fear and anxiety experienced by children during inhaler drug administration make it difficult for them to comply with the treatment. This study was carried out to determine the effect of reading and coloring fairy tales on children's fear levels and parental healthcare satisfaction in 3-6 year-olds children who were administered inhaler medication with a mask fort he first time. Material and Methods: The study is a randomized controlled intervention study. The research was conducted between 15.09.2023 and 20.01.2024 with 99 children aged 3-6 and their parents who were hospitalized in the Pediatrics Clinic of a public hospital and received mask and inhaler medication for the first time. There were three groups in the study: reading fairy tales group (n=33), coloring group (n=33) and control group (n=33). The researcher read fairy tales to the children in the fairy tale reading group during the procedure. Children in the painting group were painted with dry paint. The routine procedures of the service were applied to the children in the control group. The data were collected using the "Child and Family Information Form", "Child Fear Scale", "Emotional Indicators Scale in Children", PedsQL Health Care Parent Satisfaction Scale (PedsQL SBEMÖ)". Data were collected in IBM SPSS V23 program; descriptive statistics, Kruskal Wallis, Pearson Ki Kare, Kolmogorov Smirnov, Shapiro Wilk, Wilcoxon, Fisher Freeman Halton, Spearman's correlation tests were used. Results: The median scores of the Children's Fear Scale and Children's Emotional Indicators Scale during inhaler drug administration in the fairy tale reading and coloring group were compared to those in the control group. It was found that the median scores of the Children's Fear Scale and the Children's Emotional Indicators Scale during the inhaler drug administration were lower than those of the children in the control group (p<0.001). Median scores of the Child Fear Scale and the Children's Emotional Indicators Scale during the procedure were found to be higher than before the procedure (p<0.001). It was determined that the PedsQL SBEMÖ median scores of the parents in the coloring and story reading group were higher than those of the parents in the control group (p<0.001). It was found that the PedsQL SBEMÖ median scores of the parents in the coloring group were higher than those of the parents in the fairy tale reading group (p<0.001). Conclusion: As a result of the study, it was found that reading and coloring fairy tales during inhaler medication administration in 3-6 year old children reduced children's fear level and negative emotional indicators, and increased parents' health care satisfaction. It was found that the activity of coloring during inhaler medication administration was more effective in increasing parents' satisfaction than reading fairy tales. Key words: Inhaler medication, fear, reading fairy tales, coloring, satisfaction.