The Effect of Manakara Spalk Application on Reducing Anxiety in Preschool Children at Murni Teguh Horas Insani Hospital in Pematang Siantar

Abstract

Nursing care during hospitalization for children generally requires invasive actions such as intravenouos drips and is often feared by children which can result in longer care and even accelerate complications during care. Preschool children have better verbal and developmental abilities to adapt to conditions, but illness and hospitalization can cause stress and anxiety. The objective was to determine the effect of manakara spalk application on reducing anxiety in preschool children at Murni Teguh Horas Insani Hospital, Pematang Siantar. It is quasi-experimental design in the intervention and control group and using total sampling technique with a sample size of 16 respondents in each group. The instruments used were the Zung-Self Rating Anxiety scale questionnaire and observation sheet. The results showed that there was an effect of the application of manakara spalk on reducing anxiety in preschool children with a calculated z-value of 4.842 > z-table 0.4505 and a p-value = 0.001 (α<0.05). It can be concluded that there is an effect of the manakara spalk application on reducing anxiety in preschool children. It is recommended for further researchers to add other variables such as a comparison of interventions with other play therapies to reduce anxiety in preschool children during hospitalization.