Doctoral student Andy Tan co-authors paper on using television to help get children through difficult medical procedures.

Andy S.L. Tan

Annenberg’s Andy S.L. Tan is one of the co-authors of the study “Reducing Anxiety Levels in Preschool Children Undergoing Cryotherapy for Cutaneous Viral Warts: Use of a Portable Video Player,” in the Archives of Dermatology (online, The JAMA Network). The research showed that the use of a portable video player significantly reduced preprocedural anxiety levels in preschool children undergoing cryotherapy for cutaneous viral warts.

 

 

The objective was to determine if watching a children's program on a portable video player reduces anxiety levels in preschool children before cryotherapy for cutaneous viral warts. Setting up a portable video player in a general dermatology clinic, participants aged two through 6 were shown a chikldren’s program while undergoing the procedure. A total of 99 cryotherapy sessions performed among 35 children were evaluated. Fifteen children underwent cryotherapy during the preintervention phase only, and 13 children underwent cryotherapy during the intervention phase only. The mean modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale scores were 58.4 during the preintervention phase and 37.7 during the intervention phase (P = .005). The percentages of children with a high anxiety score (≥30) were 100% (15 of 15) during the preintervention phase and 38% (5 of 13) during the intervention phase (P < .001). Another 7 children underwent cryotherapy during both the preintervention and intervention phases. Their mean modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale scores were 53.7 during the preintervention phase and 42.0 during the intervention phase (P = .03). The percentages of children with a high anxiety score were 86% (6 of 7) during the intervention phase and 43% (3 of 7) during the intervention phase (P = .25). In both groups, the time spent coaxing and treating children decreased after the intervention, but the differences were not statistically significant. 

Coverage of the study in Reuters can be found at this link.