Evaluating the Effects of a Supportive intervention Program on the Post-operative Pain and Anxiety in Preschool Children

One of the most important actions in taking care of the hospitalized children is to control their pain and anxiety. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a supportive program on pain and anxiety of children undergoing surgery through using distraction to educate them in different concepts (preschool educational concepts, coping skills, problem-solving techniques and life skills).

In this Quasi Experimental study, 64 3-6-years-old children admitted to Imam Hossein Children's Hospital in Isfahan were selected by convenience sampling methods and were divided into two groups (n=32). TPPS checklist and Piyeri Anxiety Inventory were used for data collection.  In order to distract the mind, a supportive intervention program was performed for the experimental group 24 hours after surgery, in a 45-minute session. Data analysis was performed using SPSS software version 21.

After the intervention, both mean scores of pain and severity of anxiety in the experimental group were significantly lower than those of the control group and also than those of the same group before the intervention (P <0.05).

The proposed supportive intervention program is an appropriate non-pharmacological method for reducing pain and anxiety that considers various aspects of children's physical, mental and emotional needs along with their evolutionary growth.