The Effect of Finger Puppet Play on Pain and Anxiety during Peripheral Vascular Opening Attempts in Preschool-age Children during Emergency Room Visits: Randomized Controlled Study

Objective: The pupose of this study is to examine the effect of finger puppet play on pain and anxiety during peripheral vascular access in preschool-age children in the emergency room. Design and methods: The study was conducted in a randomised controlled manner. The study population consisted of children aged 4–6 years who came to the paediatric emergency room of a hospital in Turkey between 25 May and 25 June 2022. The sample consisted of 97 children who met the research criteria between these dates (49 in the control group, 48 in the finger puppet play group). Stratification and block randomisation methods were used to determine the experimental and control groups.The data were collected with the Survey Form, Child Fear and Anxiety Inventory (CFAI) and Wong-Baker Facial Expression Rating Scale (WB-FAS) through interviews conducted by the researchers. Finger puppet play was shown to the experimental group during the procedure. Results: In the experimental and control groups, the child's pain and anxiety were evaluated by the child, parent, and researcher before the procedure, and similar pain and anxiety values were found from each source (p>0.05). During the procedure, the child's pain and anxiety were evaluated by the child, the parent, and the researcher, and it was found that the children in the finger puppet game group experienced significantly less pain and anxiety than the children in the control group (p < 0.05). Results: According to these results, the application of finger puppetry to children aged 4–6 years undergoing peripheral vascular access was effective in reducing pain and anxiety.