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ChildNCT07428421

The Effect of Supporting the Incision Site With Toys During Mobilization in Children Aged 4-10 Years Undergoing Abdominal Surgery

A study testing Toy Group in people with Child, run by Tarsus University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of supporting the wound area with a toy during mobilization on pain and fear in children undergoing abdominal surgery. Method: The study was a randomised controlled trial. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 4 to 10 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Child
What is being tested?
Toy Group
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
74 participants
Where
1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
Study dates
1 Mar 2026to 15 Dec 2026
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 4 to 10 years
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Aged between 4 and 10 years
  • Having undergone abdominal surgery
  • Having undergone surgery under general anesthesia
  • Having received a single dose of analgesic (paracetamol) after surgery
  • Having undergone initial mobilization after surgery
  • Volunteering to participate in the study

Who cannot join

  • Previous surgical intervention
  • Major surgery
  • Chronic illness
  • The child has visual, hearing, and mental disabilities

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Duygu SÖNMEZ DÜZKAYA, PhD contact

2200 ext. +903246000033

duygusduzkaya@tarsus.edu.tr

Yusuf Kızılkaya contact

Turkey (Türkiye)1 site, 1 recruiting
  • Tarsus University

    Mersin

    Duygu SÖNMEZ DÜZKAYA, PhD, duygusduzkaya@tarsus.edu.tr

    Recruiting

Other trials in Turkey (Türkiye)

About this study

Official title: The Effect of Supporting the Incision Site With Toys During Mobilization on Pain and Fear Levels in Children Aged 4-10 Years Undergoing Abdominal Surgery

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the effect of supporting the wound area with a toy during mobilization on pain and fear in children undergoing abdominal surgery. Method: The study was a randomised controlled trial. The study sample consisted of 74 children (Toy: 37, control: 37) who has undergone abdominal surgery between March 2026 and December 2026 at the Mersin University Hospital Pediatric surgery department. The data collection tools used will be the Children Information Form, Wong Baker Pain Scale , Fear scale. In the intervention group, toy will be used after surgery, while the control group will receive routine care. The chils' pain and fear levels will be assessed by the nurse before and after the procedure.

Read the detailed description

The study will be conducted as a randomized controlled trial to determine the effect of supporting the wound area with a toy during mobilization on pain and fear in children undergoing abdominal surgery.

Materials and Methods Setting The research will be conducted at the Pediatric Surgery Department of Mersin University Hospital between March and December 2026. The Pediatric Surgery Department is where elective day surgeries and emergency surgical interventions are performed, and where pre- and post-operative care is provided.

Sample When determining the sample size for the study, the scientific study titled "The Effect of Mobilization with Environmental Play on Fear and Pain Levels in the Postoperative Period of Children Aged 6-12 Years Who Underwent Acute Appendectomy" by Akdağ (2019), based on literature reviews to determine the sample size for effect size, was used as a basis. According to the study, the Power analysis (G*Power 3.1.9.2) resulted in an effect size of 0.896, a 95% confidence interval, and a 95% power, requiring a total of 68 children, with at least 34 in each group. Considering the possibility of dropouts and confounding variables during the research process, a total of 74 children were determined, with 37 children in each group.

Data Collection The necessary ethics committee and institutional approvals will be obtained before starting the research.

  1. Phase: Data collection forms to be used prior to the research will be pilot tested with 10 children to assess the suitability of the plush toy selected for support.
  2. Phase: The children and family members in the sample group will be informed about how the application will be carried out and about the research, and written consent will be obtained from the family and verbal consent from the child.
  3. Phase: Children meeting the sample selection criteria will be randomly and equally distributed into two groups (1st study group and 2nd control group) using a computer program to ensure randomization. "(http://www1.assumption.edu/users/avadum/applets/RandAssign/GroupGen.html)".
  4. Phase: The pain and fear levels of children in all groups prior to mobilization will be assessed by the child, parent, and nurse. The child's vital signs will be recorded by the nurse prior to mobilization. In this phase:
  • Study group: Children in this group will be supported with a plush toy immediately before the incision sites are treated and will continue to be supported throughout mobilization. When the child is transferred to the hospital bed, the support with the plush toy will be discontinued.
  • Control group: Children in this group will receive the parent support that is routine in the clinic.
  1. Step: After mobilization, the child's pain and fear levels will be assessed and recorded by the child, parent, and nurse. After mobilization, the nurse will record the child's vital signs.
  2. Step: The data obtained will be analyzed and reported.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25.0 will be used to evaluate the data obtained from the research. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, and arithmetic mean will be used in the analysis of sociodemographic data. For data with a normal distribution, an independent t-test will be used to compare quantitative data between two independent groups, while analysis of variance will be used for repeated measurements when comparing more than two dependent groups. If a difference is found, Bonferroni will be used to identify the group causing the difference. For non-normally distributed data, the Mann Whitney U test will be applied to compare quantitative data between two independent groups, and the Friedman test will be applied when comparing more than two dependent groups. If a difference is found, the adjusted Bonferroni test will be used to identify the group causing the difference. Chi-square analysis will be applied to test the relationship between categorical variables. Cohen's Kappa Test will be applied in the inter-observer agreement analysis. In addition, at the end of the study, the adequacy of the sample size will be tested with a post-hoc power analysis. The statistical significance level will be set at p<.05.

Conditions
Child
Being tested
Toy Group
Keywords
Abdominal Surgery, pediatric, nursing, toy

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Toy GroupOther

    Children in this group will be supported with a plush toy immediately before the incision sites are processed and will continue to be supported throughout mobilization. When the child is transferred to the hospital bed, the support with the plush toy will be discontinued. Children in this group will receive parental support as part of the clinic's routine.

Study groups in NCT07428421
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Toy GroupExperimentalThe incision sites of children in this group will be supported with a plush toy immediately before the procedure begins and will continue to be supported throughout mobilization. When the patient is transferred to the hospital bed, the support with the plush toy will be discontinued.
Receives: Other: Toy Group
Control GroupNo interventionChildren in this group will receive parental support as part of the clinic's routine.

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Children Information Form

    The form, prepared in line with the literature, consists of 24 questions regarding the sociodemographic characteristics of children. A 3-point Likert-type observation form created by the researcher will be used in this form to evaluate children's participation in the mobilization process. Scoring is categorized as follows: '3: Willing/Active Participation', '2: Reluctant/Variable Participation', and '1: Unwilling/Resistant'. The researcher observed the child's verbal and behavioral responses during mobilization preparation and the walk and assigned the relevant score.

    Measured: 1 day

  2. Wong-Baker Pain Scale

    Developed in 1981 by Donna Wong and Connie Morain Baker to assess children's pain levels, it was revised in 1983. There are six facial expressions scored from zero to ten. The Wong-Baker Scale features faces that show increasing pain intensity from zero to six, moving from left to right.

    Measured: 1 day

  3. Fear Scale

    Thurillet et al. (2022) developed this scale to assess children's fears based on self-reports from children aged 4-12. The Turkish validity and reliability study was conducted by Tavşan et al. (2024). The scale consists of six facial expressions. The scale rates fear on a scale ranging from 0 to 10 (rated incrementally in twos), consistent with pain rating scales. The first facial expression indicates no fear, while fear increases as one moves from right to left, with the sixth facial expression indicating the highest level of fear. A statistically significant, very high positive correlation was found between the Fear Scale and the Children's Fear Scale (r=0.973; p<0.001). The high correlation value between the two forms indicates that the children's form is valid. The scale's content validity index and item content validity index values were found to be 0.98. A very good level of statistically significant agreement was found between the Fear Scale and the Children's Fear Scale (Kappa

    Measured: 1 day

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted23 Feb 2026
  2. Study start1 Mar 2026 (estimated)
  3. Primary completion1 Dec 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion15 Dec 2026 (estimated)

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Health services research
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Participant
Enrolment
74 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07428421
Sponsor's protocol ID
2026/03
Status last verified
Feb 2026
First submitted
16 Feb 2026
Last updated
23 Feb 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Kwekkeboom KL, Gretarsdottir E. Systematic review of relaxation interventions for pain. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2006;38(3):269-77. doi: 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2006.00113.x.

    PubMed 17044345
  • Jones RA, Merkle S, Ruvalcaba L, Ashton P, Bailey C, Lopez M. Nurse-Led Mobility Program: Driving a Culture of Early Mobilization in Medical-Surgical Nursing. J Nurs Care Qual. 2020 Jan/Mar;35(1):20-26. doi: 10.1097/NCQ.0000000000000404.

    PubMed 30889084
  • Gürsoy, A. (2024). Video destekli erken mobilizasyon eğitiminin abdominal cerrahi sonrası hastaların mobilizasyon durumuna ve mobilizasyon ile ilişkili ölçütlere etkisi (doktora tezi). Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi.

  • Gıynaş, T., Önel, A. E., Küçük, S., Uğur, S., & Yardımcı, F. An Investigation of Using Non-Pharmacological Methods in Pain Management in Postoperative Period in Children: A Systematic Review. Bilecik Şeyh Edebali Üniversitesi Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, 2(3), 172-190.

  • Daldaban, F. N. (2023), Erken mobilizasyon eğitiminin abdominal cerrahi sonrası hareketlilik, ağrı ve konfor üzerine etkisi (yüksek lisans tezi). Doğu Akdeniz Üniversitesi.

  • Çamok, G. (2021). Yoğun bakım ünitesinde entübe hastaların erken mobilizasyonu ve erken mobilizasyonun solunum örüntüsü ile hasta hemodinamisine etkileri (yüksek lisans tezi). İstanbul Okan Üniversitesi.

  • Cote CJ, Wilson S; AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS; AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRIC DENTISTRY. Guidelines for Monitoring and Management of Pediatric Patients Before, During, and After Sedation for Diagnostic and Therapeutic Procedures: Update 2016. Pediatrics. 2016 Jul;138(1):e20161212. doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-1212.

    PubMed 27354454
  • Christiaens, G. (2003). Independent nursing interventions for pain management. Home health care management & practice, 15(3), 212-214.

  • Akdağ, Y. M. (2019). Akut apendisit ameliyatı olan 6-12 yaş grubu çocukların postoperatif dönemde çevre oyunu ile mobilizasyonunun korku ve ağrı düzeyine etkisi (Yüksek lisans tezi). İstanbul Okan Üniversitesi.

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Toy Group in people with Child, run by Tarsus University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 6 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 23 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Duygu SÖNMEZ DÜZKAYA, PhD (2200 ext. +903246000033, duygusduzkaya@tarsus.edu.tr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Children Information Form (time frame: 1 day). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07428421, which also lists 9 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 23 Feb 2026.

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