The Effect of Skin Scraping Equipment on the Level of Fear in Pediatric at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the different types of blades on the level of fear of pediatric patients going through a skin scraping procedure at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health. A comparison was made between using a plastic blade and a stainless steel banana blade on children. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 30 participants from January to June 2018. Those participants were children between the ages of 3 to 6 years old that was diagnosed with skin fungal infections, in which they were required to get at least 1 square centimeter (cm²) of skin scraping. Data was collected by using a questionnaire and observing the level of fear in participants. Results from the data were analyzed by using percentages, mean average, and standard deviation and compare the average fear of scraping the skin using stainless steel banana blades in the control group and plastic blades in the experimental group using statistics MANN-WHITNEY U TEST.

 A majority of the participants, 15 each, in the experimental group consisted of 66.7% males while those in the control group consisted of 53.3% females. The level of fear was assessed before the actual skin scraping and during the skin scraping procedure. In the experimental group, the mean level of fear before using the plastic blade was 1.867 and the standard deviation was 0.256. On the other hand, the control group had the mean level of fear before using the banana blade at 2.800 and the standard deviation was 0.518 with a p-value of 0.122. When the mean and standard deviation were compared between the two groups, there were no statistically significant differences. However, when the level of fear was evaluated during the skin procedure, there were statistically significant differences in the mean and standard deviation between the two groups where p-value<0.05. The mean level of fear in the experimental group was 1.600, while the mean level of fear in the control group reached a high 3.8.

In conclusion, using a plastic blade rather than the banana blade during the skin scraping procedure helps to reduce the level of fear in pediatric patients.