Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Journal of Nursing Effect, cilt.19, sa.2, ss.257-268, 2026 (Scopus)
Background: Hickman catheters (HC) are integral to pediatric oncology care. Nevertheless, the frequently repeated nature of HC dressing changes can provoke procedure-related pain and fear in children. During these procedures, watching cartoons represents a low-resource, readily implementable distraction strategy. While the literature extensively examines interventions to reduce pain and fear during needle-based procedures such as port access, evidence specifically focused on HC dressing changes remains limited. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the effect of watching cartoons on pain and fear levels during HC dressing changes in pediatric oncology patients. Methods: A parallel two-arm randomized controlled trial was conducted with 80 pediatric oncology patients aged 5 to 12 years. Children were randomly allocated to two groups: cartoon (n = 40) and control (n = 40). Children self-reported their pain using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale and their fear using the Children’s Fear Scale. Children’s oxygen saturation and heart rate were evaluated using a pulse oximeter device. The clinical trial registration number of the study is NCT05301374. The descriptive statistics, the Mann-Whitney U test, the independent samples t-test, Yates’ continuity correction test, and Pearsons’s x2 test were used to analyse the data. Results: Children’s pain and fear scores and heart rates were significantly lower in the cartoon group compared to the control group during and after the HC dressing change procedure. However, no significant difference was seen in oxygen saturation values between the two groups. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that watching cartoons during HC dressing changes in pediatric oncology patients is effective for relieving pain and fear. Nurses can use the cartoon distraction method to help relieve procedure-related pain and fear in children during HC dressing changes.