The effect of PRE-radiotherapy treatment preparation on the child's anxiety-FEAR and parent anxiety level with structured therapeutic game

Objective: This research is 4-7 years old between children's structured therapeutic the game with radiotherapy pre-preparation the child anxiety - fear and parent anxiety to the level effect to determine for the purpose of made. Method: This research carried out with a quasi-experimental method in the pre-test-post-test order. Research data collected between November 2020 and March 2022. The sample of the study consisted of children aged 4-7 years (n:16) and their parents (n:16) who received radiotherapy for the first time in Akdeniz University Hospital Radiotherapy Unit, structured therapeutic play sessions were applied four times before the simulation, before the first three days of radiotherapy. 'Child and Parent Information Form', 'State-Trait Anxiety Scale', 'Child Anxiety Scale-State Scale', ' Child Fear Scale' were used to collect data. Data analyzes performed using the SPSS 23.0 package program, using the Sperman correlation and Wilcoxon test. Results: In the study, the children were before and after the simulation the mean scores of the Child Anxiety Scale-State Scale (CAS-SS) were 8.31±1.195, 4.81±1.870, respectively; Child Fear Scale (CFS) total score averages were found as 3.50±0.516 and 0.88±0.719, respectively. The mean scores of the children's CAS-SS before and after the first day of radiotherapy were found to be 8.19±1.0478, 4.38±2.062, and CFS total score averages were found as 3.44±0.512, 0.69±0.704, respectively. The children's before simulation CAS-SS (8.31±1.195) and CFS (3.50±0.516) total scores, and after the third day of radiotherapy, the CAS-SS ( 1.31±1.138) and CFS ( 0.25±0.447) total scores the difference between the means was found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Configured ıt concluded that the children who were prepared for simulation and radiotherapy with therapeutic play sessions remained motionless during the procedures and did not need anesthesia/sedation applications. The difference between the before simulation State Anxiety Scale (DAS) total score averages (61.75±5.285) and the DAS total score averages (29.93±2.568) after the third day of radiotherapy of parents who received radiotherapy preparation training and accompanied their children in structured therapeutic play sessions was statistically significant. It was found to be significant in terms of (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was found that pre-radiotherapy preparation with structured therapeutic play reduced the child's anxiety-fear and parental anxiety levels. Key words: anxiety, pediatric nursing, fear, radiotherapy, therapeutic play