The effect of video-based education program applied before children's pediatric Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) on anxiety in Turkey: A randomized controlled study.

Objective: This study is a randomized controlled trial conducted to examine the effects of a Turkish video-based education program on scanned image quality and child and parent anxiety during Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).

Design And Methods: The study was conducted with 66 children aged between 4 and 15 years at Zonguldak Bulent Ecevit University Health Practice and Research Hospital, between January 2019 and December 2019. A video-based educational program was applied to an intervention group before MRI.

Results: The video-based education program reduced children's anxiety and fear (p < 0.001). The study also showed a significant reduction in parental stress (p < 0.001). The image quality in the intervention group was better than that in the control group (control group: 3.24 ± 1.20; intervention group: 4.18 ± 0.81) (p = 0.001). Significantly fewer children refused to enter the MRI room in the intervention group than in the control group (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: Child-friendly and video-based educational programs can be organized for children and parents in diagnostic and treatment procedures for children in hospitals.

Practice Implications: MRI scans can be uncomfortable for children and require transport to a better-equipped hospital for sedation. They can also cause financial loss for children and their parents and disrupt facility workflow. An educational program to adjust the children and their families will improve the scanning process and its success rate.