ผลของโปรแกรมการเล่นบำบัดต่อความวิตกกังวลก่อนผ่าตัดในผู้ป่วยเด็กวัยเรียน

Abstract

Reducing preoperative anxiety among school-age patients is important for nursing care to prepare pediatric patients for surgery. The objective of this quasi-experimental research was to evaluate the effect of the play therapy program on anxiety among school-age patients undergoing surgical treatment. A sample of 44 patients aged 6-12 years, who had planned surgery from March to April 2024, was selected in a purposive manner. The sample was divided into an experimental group and a control group with 22 patients per group. The experimental group received a play therapy program combined with routine nursing care while the control group received routine nursing care. The research instruments included the play therapy program and the Thai State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children-Revised (Thai STAIC-R). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, Wilcoxon signed-rank test, Mann-Whitney U test, and analysis of variance (one-way repeated ANOVA). The results of the study showed that average scores for anxiety in the intervention group were statistically lower than those in the control group (p < .001), and the average scores for anxiety in the intervention group had statistically significantly differences between before and after receiving the program (p < .001). These results suggest that the play therapy program reduced preoperative anxiety among school-aged patients. Pediatric nurses should use the program to reduce school-age patients’ preoperative anxiety.