The effect of children in 3-6 years of playing with play dough on their adherence to nebulizer treatment

Nebulizer therapy is a method used in the treatment of respiratory diseases. Children who do not comply with nebulizer therapy have a longer recovery and hospital stay. This study was carried out in order to examine the effect of playing with play dough in children aged 3-6 years on their compliance with nebulizer therapy. The sample of the research were formed with 80 children who met the research criteria and consented from their parents in Sancaktepe Martyr Professor Dr. İlhan Varank Training and Research Hospital Children's Service between October 2021 and February 2022. Research data were collected with the Patient Child Diagnosis Form and the Child Evaluation Form during Nebulizer Treatment. Data were analyzed with the Kolmogorov-Smirnov/Shapiro-Wilk, Mann Whitney U, Pearson Chi-Square, Paired Sample T, Frieadmen Chi-Square and Wilcoxon Signed Rank tests. p <.05 was accepted as statistical significance value. The median body temperature and respiratory rate of the children in the research and control groups are within the reference value range. The heart rate averages of the children in the research group were higher than the control group, and the median SpO2 was lower. It was observed that the children in the research group had more respiratory distress and gradually decreased. The children in the control group had more reactions that reduced the effect of nebulizer therapy and prevented its continuation. During nebulizer therapy, maladaptive responses gradually decreased in both groups, but the decrease was greater in the research group. Children in the study group had less reactions that reduced the effect of nebulizer treatment and prevented its continuation while playing with play dough. According to these results, it is recommended that children play with play dough during nebulizer treatment.