Changes in Anxiety Scores Following Storytelling Therapy Among Hospitalized Preschool Children: A Pre-Experimental Study

Abstract

Hospitalization can be stressful for preschool children due to unfamiliar environments, disrupted routines, and medical procedures. Anxiety may affect children's comfort and cooperation during treatment. Storytelling is a child-friendly non-pharmacological intervention that may reduce anxiety through distraction and emotional support. This study aimed to evaluate changes in anxiety scores following a storytelling intervention among hospitalized preschool children. A quantitative pre-experimental one-group pretest–posttest design was used to assess changes in anxiety before and after the intervention. The study included 34 hospitalized preschool children aged 3–6 years at Siti Fatimah Az-Zahra Regional General Hospital, South Sumatra, Indonesia, recruited using purposive sampling. Anxiety was assessed immediately before and after the intervention using the Faces Anxiety Scale (FAS), a five-point visual scale scored from 0 to 4. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test was used to analyze pre–post differences in anxiety scores. Before the intervention, the median anxiety score was 2 (IQR 1–2), with 20 children (58.8%) experiencing moderate anxiety and 14 (41.2%) experiencing mild anxiety. After the intervention, the median anxiety score decreased to 1 (IQR 0–1), with 17 children (50.0%) classified as having no anxiety, 14 (41.2%) having mild anxiety, and 3 (8.8%) having moderate anxiety. The Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test demonstrated a significant difference in anxiety scores after the intervention (Z = −5.058, p < 0.001), with a large effect size (r = 0.87). The storytelling intervention was associated with an immediate reduction in anxiety scores among hospitalized preschool children. However, due to the absence of a control group, the findings should be interpreted cautiously and do not establish a definitive causal effect.