Effect of Storytelling with Metaphor Toy Used During Venous Blood Collection on Fear and Anxiety Levels in Children: Randomized Controlled Trial

This study was planned as a randomized controlled experimental study with pre-test-post-test measurements including intervention (n= 34) and control (n= 34) groups in order to reduce fear and anxiety levels in childrens by using a metaphor toy during venous blood collection. The toy to be used in the study was developed by the researchers in order to metaphorize the blood collection process. In the study, the metaphor toy to be used during the blood collection process was used to narrate the bee collecting honey from a flower. In this way, the blood collection process, which can cause fear and anxiety in children, will be metaphorized. The Child Identification Form, Child Fear Scale and Children Emotional Manifestation Scale will be used as data collection tools in the study. 68 children between the ages of 7-10 who applied to Akdeniz University Hospital Pediatric Blood Collection Unit will constitute the universe of the study. Data will be collected by face-to-face interview method after receiving institutional permission for the conduct of the study and parental consent. After the final test data collection phase of the study is completed, the data obtained will be analyzed using the Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) 23.0 software package program. The data evaluation process will be carried out with the support of a statistics expert. It is anticipated that the storytelling with the metaphor toy used during the venous blood collection process will have lower fear and anxiety levels in the intervention group children compared to the control group children.

Intervention Group The research will be implemented in stages. Stage 1: Preliminary Implementation of the Research (First Measurement) A preliminary implementation was conducted with 5 children who met the inclusion criteria of the research in order to evaluate the comprehensibility and applicability of the surveys and storytelling with metaphor toys. After the preliminary implementation, the final version of the application was decided. During the preliminary implementation, a positive change was observed in the emotional states of the children who were applied the intervention after the storytelling with metaphor toys. The children included in the preliminary implementation will not be included in the research sample.

Stage 2: Application After randomization, the pre-test will be applied by the researcher to the children included in the intervention group after obtaining consent from their parents.

The pre-test will be applied to the child who meets the inclusion criteria for the study.

Before the children included in the intervention group proceed to the blood collection process, the story will be told to the child by the researcher in the waiting room of the Akdeniz University Hospital Blood Collection Unit through a metaphor toy. The child and the parent will be together during the story telling. The story presented below will be told to the child in the blood collection unit. Expert opinions were obtained from five academics who completed their doctoral education in the field of Child Health and Disease Nursing for the content of the story.