The effect of storytelling with metaphor toys used during venous blood collection on children's fear and anxiety levels: Randomized controlled trial

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the effect of storytelling using a metaphor toy in reducing fear and anxiety related to venous blood collection in children. Materials and Methods: The study is a randomized controlled interventional study. The study sample consisted of 68 children (intervention group: 34, control group: 34) aged 7-10 years who applied to Akdeniz University Hospital Pediatric Blood Collection Unit between November 28, 2024 and February 24, 2025. The Child Identification Form, the Children's Fear Scale, and the Children's Emotional Expression Scale were used to collect data. While metaphor toy and storytelling techniques were applied to the intervention group during the venous blood collection process, no intervention was applied to the control group. SPSS 26.0 program was used to analyze the data and Chi-Square test, Paired Sample T Test, and Independent Sample T Test were performed. Results: It was found that the pre-test-posttest total mean scores of the Children's Fear Scale were 2.71 ± 1.19, 1.71 ± 1.19, and the pre-test-posttest mean scores of the Children's Emotional Expression Scale were 2.23 ± 0.59, 1.92 ± 0.64 in the intervention group. It was determined that the pre-test-posttest total mean scores of the Children's Fear Scale were 2.41 ± 1.26, 2.35 ± 1.25, and the pre-test-posttest mean scores of the Children's Emotional Expression Scale were 2.56 ± 0.84, 2.39 ± 0.71 in the control group. It was observed that there was a statistically significant decrease in the mean fear and anxiety scores of the children in the intervention group who were subjected to storytelling with a metaphor toy during venous blood collection compared to the children in the control group. Conclusion: It was concluded that the storytelling method with metaphor toys was effective in reducing fear and anxiety in children during the venous blood collection procedure. Keywords: Child, fear and anxiety, metaphor toy, pediatric nursing, venous blood sampling.