The effect of animal-assisted intervention on fear in children in the emergency department: A randomized controlled trial

Aim: This study aimed to determine the effect of animal-assisted intervention on the fears of hospitalized children in the emergency department (ED). Materials and Methods: The population of this research consists of children hospitalized in the observation area of Tokat Gaziosmanpaşa University Hospital Pediatric Emergency Department (ED). The sample of the research is children who meet the inclusion criteria and whose age group is 5-7 (intervention group: 35, control group: 35). Data was collected between April and June 2023 until the sample size was reached with simple randomization method. In the study, the Child Fear Scale (CFS) and The Scale of Children's Fear of Nursing Interventions and Instruments Used in Hospital (TSCFNIIUH) were applied as pre-test and post-test. While goldfish were used for animal-assisted intervention in the study group, routine care was continued in the control group. The data were analyzed using the software package. Results: 51.4% of the intervention and control groups are girls, and 20% of the intervention group and 17.1% of the control group keep pets. The descriptive characteristics of the children and parents in the intervention and control groups, the pre-test mean scores of the CFS and TSCFNIIUH, and the applied nursing interventions are similar (p>0.05). It was found that the post-test mean score of the Child Fear Scale decreased to 0.26±0.56 in the intervention group and to 1.09±1.22 in the control group, and there was a statistically significant difference between them (p<0.001). The mean TSCFNIIUH total and subscale scores of the study group decreased statistically and significantly in an advanced degree in the post-test (p<0.001), but the difference between them compared to the control group was not significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Pediatric emergency nurses in the hospital should not neglect fear assessment and structured evidence-based animal-assisted practices to treat cases in the ED effectively. To reduce the fear of instruments in nursing interventions, awareness should be raised through therapeutic games in schools and healthcare environments according to the development level of children. Key Words: animal-assisted practice, fear, goldfish, material, pediatric emergency, nursing interventions.