ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT06600113MINAUpdated Sep 19, 2024

Effect of Educational Intervention on Children's Anxiety

An interventional study of Education and teaching of coping strategies in Health Literacy, Anesthesia and Anxiety, sponsored by University of Iceland. Recruiting at 1 site in Iceland. Open to participants aged 4 Years to 8 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2024-09-19.

Primary conditionChild BehaviorRegistry: Anxiety DisordersReclassifiedWhy we changed it
Registry
Anxiety Disorders — the first condition term the registry derived for this study.
ClinicalTrials.gg
Child Behavior
Why
  1. The registry often attaches Anxiety Disorders to studies about something else, and this study's title and listed conditions do not name it.
  2. The study's listed conditions name Child Behavior.
Confidence
High: the new condition is named in the study's own listed conditions. Of 351 hand-checked studies reclassified this way, 68% were exactly right and 84% in the right disease family; the registry's first term was right for 5% (measured 2026-10-21). How we classify →
Wrong?
Tell us the study's main condition →

Sponsored by University of Iceland · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Primary completion was expected by May 2025, 1 year 6 months ago, but the record still lists the study as recruiting.
  • Registered 1 year 2 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Nov 2022, registered Feb 2024).
  • Started Nov 2022; still recruiting 3 years 11 months later.
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
150
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
4 Years to 8 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The aim of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational health game intervention for children undergoing anesthesia from the perspective of children's anxiety. Participants are divided into three groups: one plays an educational game, another gets similar educational material (story) on a website and the third receives usual care. Anxiety will be evaluated with a standard assessment tool at the medical centre and parents answer questionnaires about themselves and their child. The study is an important step into innovation in the field of patient education where computer games are used to disseminate information, teach salvation and promote faith in the child's own ability and courage. The study will provide important information on children's anxiety for anaesthesia and what the effects of the computer game are compared to other educational methods.

Read the detailed description

This study is a randomized controlled trial. This study will evaluate the effectiveness of an educational health game intervention for children undergoing anesthesia from the perspective of children's anxiety. The data will be collected from children (4-8 years old) and their parent or guardian at four different time points: the baseline, post1, post-2 and post 3-intervention.

The sample size was calculated by statistician using power calculations. According to the calculations, the targeted sample size is in total 150 children (50 per each arm) in Finland and Iceland.

Participants are recruited from daycare surgery wards in university hospitals or hospitals where children undergo various procedures under anesthesia. The recruitment will be agreed separately with the hospital and hospital workers.

Data will be collected in four different time points.

  1. Before the intervention, baseline. Questionnaires for parent: the child's temperament is measured with Child Behaviour Questionnaire (CBQ) (Rothbart et al 2001), the anxiety of parent is measured with the State-trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI, trait part) (Spielberger, 1983) and background information of the child and parents.
  2. After the baseline questionnaires children are randomized to three groups. Group A: plays an educational mobile game, Group B: similar educational material on a website than in the health game, and Group C: the usual care (receives information from the health personnel) for preparation for the anesthesia.
  3. At the hospital. Questionnaire for parent: Parents answers the anxiety of parent (STAI, state part). Nurse observes child's anxiety in hospital using The Modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale, mYPAS short form, (mYPAS-SF) (Jenkins et al. 2014) in the waiting room before the anesthesia (post 1) while the child is prepared for anesthesia and right before the induction of anesthesia (post 2). Nurse 2 also observes weather the child is particularly crying or calm when waking up. The nurse will collect information from the child's medical records for the study, such as the procedure the child has had and the reason for the procedure, premedication etc.
  4. After the anesthesia (post 3) Questionnaire for parent: 2-4 days after the operation questions regarding the experience of anesthesia.
02

Conditions studied

  • Health Literacy
  • Anesthesia
  • Anxiety
  • Fear
  • Attitude
  • Child Behavior
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice

Browse trials for

Keywords

  • Children
  • Game
  • Anesthesia
  • Health literacy
03

In context

Child Behavior Reclassified

224 studies on the registry are indexed under Child Behavior; 41 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 150 is close to the median of 140 across 197 interventional studies indexed under Child Behavior.

Browse Child Behavior studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Iceland is the lead sponsor of 35 studies on the registry; 9 are open to participants now.

Compared within Child Behavior, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Anxiety Disorders. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
4 Years to 8 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Undergoing anesthesia for medical procedure

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Does not understand Icelandic/Finnish
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Factorial assignment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Enrollment
150 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Game playing

    Children play a specially designed educational game within one week of their medical procedure. The game informs the child what to expect at the day of the procedure and teaching coping strategies

    Other: Education and teaching of coping strategies

  • Active comparator
    Story telling

    Children are read an illustrated story by their parent within one week of their medical procedure. The story informs the child what to expect at the day of the procedure and teaching coping strategies

    Other: Education and teaching of coping strategies

  • No intervention
    Usual care

    These children get the usual care, information from their parents or doctor before the medical procedure

Interventions

  • OtherEducation and teaching of coping strategies

    the intervention consists of patient education for children, the same content delivered through either an educational game and storytelling

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Preoperative anxiety of children

    Anxiety is measured with short version of the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale (mYPAS-SF) with observational scores from 22.9, minimal anxiety, to 100, maximal anxiety

    Time frame: Through study completion, twice a day of surgery: In the waiting room before anesthesia and just before induction of anesthesia.

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
  • Laeknastofur Akureyrar
    Akureyri, Iceland
    Recruiting
    • Bjorn Gunnarsson, Ph.D · Contact
08

References and documents

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No

No publications or documents are linked to this record.

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Sep 19, 2024, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT06600113
Lead sponsor
University of Iceland
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Sep 19, 2024
Start date
Nov 21, 2022
Primary completion
May 1, 2025 (estimated)
Completion
May 1, 2025 (estimated)
Last update
Sep 19, 2024

Study contacts

Brynja Ingadottir, Ph.D
Contact
brynjain@hi.is
+3548651817
Anna O. Sigurdardottir, Ph.D
Contact
annaos@landspitali.is
Brynja Ingadottir, Ph.D
principal investigator · University of Iceland

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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