The Relationship Between Anxiety Levels of Families and Children Undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging Under Anesthesia
The Relationship Between Anxiety Levels of Families and Children Undergoing Magnetic Resonance Imaging Under Anesthesia
This prospective randomized controlled study evaluates the impact of age-appropriate therapeutic play and structured parental briefing on perioperative anxiety during pediatric MRI under sedation. Children aged 2-11 were assigned to either a multi-modal intervention group or a standard care control group. The primary objective was to measure child anxiety using the Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (m-YALE) after the intervention. Secondary objectives included assessing parental anxiety via VAS/APAIS and measuring overall parental satisfaction in the recovery room. The study aims to demonstrate that a brief psychological intervention can effectively reduce stress for both children and their parents, even during prolonged hospital waiting times.
The intervention group receives a multi-modal psychological preparation protocol conducted by trained medical students prior to the MRI procedure. The intervention consists of two main components:
Age-Appropriate Therapeutic Play: Children aged 2-7 (Pre-operational stage) receive symbolic medical play using toy kits and masks. Children aged 7-11 (Concrete operational stage) engage in interactive discussions and role-playing for 5-8 minutes.
Structured Parental Briefing: Parents receive a standardized oral briefing covering the MRI working principles, duration of the scan, the role of the anesthesia team, and the recovery process. This is followed by a Q&A session to address specific concerns.
The control group receives the routine preoperative preparation protocol of the Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University MRI Center. This standard care includes a pre-anesthetic clinical assessment by the anesthesiology team, verification of fasting status (nil per os), and standard institutional monitoring procedures. Unlike the intervention group, participants in the control group do not receive age-appropriate therapeutic play or a structured, standardized parental briefing session prior to sedation. Interaction with medical staff remains limited to routine clinical and administrative procedures.
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria: