Depression and Anxiety Responses of Hospitalized Children and Their Mothers to Therapeutic Clowns: A Study

Alparslan, Ozgur

Thursday, 25 July 2013: 1:15 PM

Ozgur Alparslan¹
Nevin Şeker, RN²
Gulcin Bozkurt³
Sümbül Yılmaz, BS²
(1)Midwifey department, Gaziosmanpasa Universitiy, Tokat Health School, Tokat, Turkey
(2)Hospital Education Department, Sivas, Turkey
(3)Midwifery department, Istanbul Universty Health Science Faculty, Istanbul, Turkey

Learning Objective 1: The learner will be able to learn depression-anxiety responses and effect on hospitalized children of therapeutic clowns

Learning Objective 2: The learner will be able to learn depression-anxiety responses of mothers of hospitalized children to therapeutic clowns

Purpose:

This study examined the effect anxiety and depression on hospitalized children and their mothers of therapeutic clowning in a pediatric hospital.

Methods: The sample was composed of 99 subjects (7-13 years) who had to undergo minor 3 days hospitalized. Children were randomly assigned to the clowns group (N=50) and their mothers (N=49) or the control group children (N=49) and their mothers (N=49). Children and parental anxiety and depression levels was measured by using pre-test and post-test the State Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory. Data were analyzed by using SPSS version 15.0 for Windows. P was accepted as significant at < 0.05.

Results: The clown group was significantly less anxious and depressive compared with control group. There were not any significant differences between mothers of clown group and mothers of control group.

Conclusion:

Clown intervention is effective in reducing anxiety and depression levels in children during the hospitalization.

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