Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Not Yet Recruiting

NCT Number: NCT06655961

The Effect of Gardening Activities on Anxiety and Psychosocial Symptoms of Hospitalized Children

The experience of hospitalization in childhood can often lead to traumatic consequences. Various practices (play, art therapy, music therapy, etc.) are used to help children cope with this process. In recent years, attention has been drawn to nature-based approaches in addition to existing practices. Within the scope of this approach, this study was planned in a parallel group (experimental-control) randomized controlled experimental design to determine the effect of garden activities on anxiety levels and psychosocial symptoms of hospitalized children aged 6-12 years. Hypotheses of the study H1: The gardening activities program applied to hospitalized children; H1a: There is an effect on children's anxiety. H1b: There is an effect on psychosocial symptoms of children. In this direction, the population of the study will consist of children between the ages of 6-12 in the children's ward of University Research and Application Hospital. The sample size determined as a result of G*power analysis was found as control (18) and intervention (18). The research will be conducted between September 2024 and June 2025. 'Child Descriptive Information Form', "Child Follow-up Form", "Child Anxiety Scale-Conditioning" and "Psychosocial Symptoms Diagnostic Scale for Hospitalized Children" will be used for data collection. The data collection process consists of three stages: pre-intervention period, intervention period and post-intervention period. Children in the intervention group will have three sessions of gardening activities within the scope of the 'Gardening Activities Program' during their hospitalization. Children in the control group will receive services within the scope of the routine treatment and nursing care protocol of the clinic during hospitalization.

Not Yet Recruiting

Trial opening soon.

Get Notified

Key information

Conditions

Gardening Activity Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Child Hospital Investigation of Anxiety Levels and Psychosocial Symptoms of Children Hospitalized for Acute Diseases During Their Hospital Stay Mental Disorders Motor Activity Pediatric Nursing Psychosocial Symptoms

Age range

6 year–12 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • The age of the children is between 6-12 years old
  • Hospitalization due to an acute medical diagnosis
  • Hospitalization for at least 3 days
  • Approval of the child's participation in the session by the responsible doctor
  • The child is conscious and fully orientated
  • Voluntariness of the child and parent to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

  • Hospitalization for more than 7 days
  • No previous hospitalization experience
  • High-risk drug use
  • Having a chronic disease that suppresses the immune system
  • Having a special condition that prevents him/her from participating in garden activities (physical, mental disability)
  • Having skin conditions that prevent them from participating in garden activities
  • Plant allergy

Treatment and study plan

Garden Activities Program

Other

When we look at the studies evaluating the effect of gardening activities on hospitalized children; it is seen that mostly children's opinions about therapeutic gardens are included and studies involving active gardening activities are limited. Shao et al. (2020) gave hospitalized children a task about garden plants and made them full this task through active participation and mobile games. However, it is seen that the gardening activity applied in this study was limited to a 5-minute task. The most important difference of our study from these studies is that a standardized gardening activity program will be applied to hospitalized children during their hospitalization and the active participation of the child will be ensured.

Clinical routine treatment and nursing care protocol

Other

Within the scope of the clinic routine treatment and nursing protocol; the decision to hospitalize the child, orientation to the clinic, execution of hospitalization paperwork, room placement, invasive intervention and treatment procedures are carried out. Treatment and care hours are revised according to individual order characteristics; 08.00-20.00, 08.00-16.00-00.00, 06.00-12.00-18.00-00.00 are planned considering the time order. 13.00-15.00 are the visiting hours. The child is not allowed to leave the clinic except for any medical purpose. No intervention will be applied to the control group of this study until the discharge process takes place.

Primary outcomes

  1. Changes in children's anxiety as a result of the implementation of the Garden Activity Programme

    Time frame: Will be assessed every day from the day of admission (day 1) to the 7th day of hospitalization.

    Child Anxiety Scale-Dispositional (CAS-D): The Child Anxiety Scale-State (CAS-D) is shaped like a thermometer with a bulb at the bottom and horizontal lines with intervals going upwards. To measure the child's state anxiety, the child is asked to tick 'what he/she is feeling at the moment'. The score can range from 0-10. A high scale score indicates that the child's anxiety is increasing.

  2. Changes in children's psychosocial symptoms as a result of the implementation of the Garden Activity Program

    Time frame: It will be assessed pre-intervention (1st day of hospitalization) and post-intervention (7th day of hospitalization).

    Psychosocial Symptoms Diagnostic Scale for Hospitalized Children: The scale consists of 24 items and five sub-dimensions (anxiety, hopelessness, communication difficulties, anger and aggression, regression). The scale has a 3-point likert-type scale, 'never: 0, sometimes: 1, often: 2'. The score obtained from the scale varies between 0-48. A high scale score indicates that the child hospitalized in the clinic has psychosocial problems.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Elif BULUT

CONTACT

[email protected]

+905466681993

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Tokat Gaziosmanpasa University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2024
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Oct 24, 2024
Registry last updated
Oct 24, 2024

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.