The influence of the puppet Kolah Ghermezi on the fear of admitting children aged 3 to 6 years

Hospitalization can cause fear and stress in children; in addition, it can be considered as an important factor leading to delayed recovery. In this regard, the use of dolls can be associated with significant reduction in stress among children. Given that nurses' appearance in health centers plays a leading role, the nurses are recommended to wear well-designed and colorful clothing to attract children's trust and attention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of wearing Kolah Ghermezi costume on fear of 3-6-year-old children admitted to hospital. 50 children aged 3-6 years of age admitted to the Department of Pediatrics, Imam Reza Hospital, Mashhad, Iran were participated in this randomized clinical trial. The subjects were then divided into two groups of control and intervention (n=25) using simple random sampling in 2016. Data were collected by means of a Child Fear Scale in order to investigate the fear level. The demographic sections of the Child Fear Scale questionnaires were filled in using interviews and subjects' records. According to the results of the study, the means of fear in control and intervention groups were 63.0±4.3 and 26.27±7.7, respectively. Moreover, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). It can be concluded that the intervention with Kolah Ghermezi costume reduces fear in children; therefore, it is recommended to wear Kolah Ghermezi costume in Department of Pediatrics to reduce the child's fear.