The Effect of a Guessing Game on Fear, Pain, and Emotional State During Blood Collection in Children Aged 6-12

NCT ID: NCT07299058

Last Updated: 2025-12-23

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 70 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2025-12-20
• Study Completion Date: 2026-12-31

Brief Summary

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of a guessing game on fear, pain and emotional state during blood collection in children aged 6-12 years.

Detailed Description

Invasive medical procedures, particularly blood draws, are among the most common healthcare procedures in which children experience intense fear, pain, and emotional stress. The literature contains numerous studies on distraction interventions designed to improve children's psychological well-being and reduce the traumatic effects of these procedures. However, the majority of these studies have focused on passive distraction techniques (e.g., watching videos or listening to music), with less emphasis on play-based interventions that involve active child participation (Uman et al., 2013; Koller & Goldman, 2012). A meta-analysis by Birnie et al. (2018) demonstrated that distraction and techniques such as hypnosis are effective in reducing pain and anxiety associated with needle injections in children. Distraction-based approaches, in particular, have been reported to divert children's cognitive capacity from directing the procedure, leading to more positive emotional responses. A review of studies conducted in this area in Turkey reveals that methods such as distraction with music (Özdemir & Karakoç, 2017), blowing bubbles (Karaman & Selimen, 2015), and playing with toys have generally been evaluated. However, studies systematically examining play-based distraction practices that utilize children's cognitive functions such as decision-making, choice, and direction in the field of nursing are rare. A randomized controlled trial conducted by Hacettepe University found that a combination of information provision and an active distraction method (a tablet puzzle game) reduced both pain and fear levels in children (p=0.001-0.005) (Isıyel et al., 2023). Randomized controlled trials in the international literature demonstrate that playing video games, virtual reality, or using interactive technology (e.g., tablet games, VR modules) significantly reduces pain and anxiety during blood collection (Inan & Inal, 2019). | However, these studies often utilize passive or semi-passive distraction applications tailored to age, while predictive game designs that focus entirely on one-on-one interaction with the child are rarely featured in the literature. To this end, this study will evaluate the "Effect of a Guessing Game on Fear, Pain, and Emotional State During Blood Collection in Children Aged 6-12."

Conditions

Pain; Blood Sampling Procedure; Fear Anxiety

Keywords

children; pain; fear; emotional state

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Intervention

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

I Wonder What I Am Play

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

I Wonder What I Am: This is a board game designed to help children over the age of four develop mental, cognitive, and language skills. The game consists of colorful cards with objects (animals, objects, vehicles, etc.) and a tool for placing them on the head. This tool begins with placing the object card to be guessed in the appropriate location, unseen by anyone else, and explaining the object's characteristics, followed by questions.

Control

Control group

Group Type: NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

I Wonder What I Am Play

I Wonder What I Am: This is a board game designed to help children over the age of four develop mental, cognitive, and language skills. The game consists of colorful cards with objects (animals, objects, vehicles, etc.) and a tool for placing them on the head. This tool begins with placing the object card to be guessed in the appropriate location, unseen by anyone else, and explaining the object's characteristics, followed by questions.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Being between 6 and 12 years of age
• Not having a previous diagnosis of a serious hematological/psychiatric disease
• The child and parent must be willing to participate in the study
• Being able to speak and understand Turkish

Exclusion Criteria

• Having received sedation, analgesics, or anxiolytic medication during the procedure
• Having a visual/hearing impairment
• Having previously undergone an invasive procedure on the same day

• Minimum Eligible Age: 6 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 12 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

Dokuz Eylul University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

İlknur Bektaş

Academic staff

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Other Identifiers

DokuzEU-7

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id