AnxietyNCT07769788
The Effect of Multisensory Stimulation Administered Before Clinical Encounters at the Pediatric Surgery Outpatient Clinic on Children's Anxiety and Fear Levels and Parental Anxiety
A study testing Multisensory Stimulation in people with Anxiety and Fear, run by Bilecik Seyh Edebali Universitesi at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
Trial summary
Encounters with healthcare services during childhood, particularly surgical evaluation processes, are a significant source of stress for both children and their parents. The initial evaluation, physical examination, and the prospect of a possible procedure conducted in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics can lead to… Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 5 to 10 yearsHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Anxiety, Fear, Multisensory Stimulation
- What is being tested?
- Multisensory Stimulation
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 80 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
- Study dates
- 29 Jul 2026to 1 Sep 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 5 to 10 years
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child
Who may be able to join
- For the children to be sampled, the inclusion criteria plan to involve children who:
- Are aged between 5 and 10 years,
- Are undergoing their first outpatient pediatric surgery evaluation,
- Have no prior history of surgery, and Agree (along with their parents) to voluntarily participate in the study.
Who cannot join
- For the children to be sampled, the exclusion criteria plan to omit children who:
- Are in unstable general condition or require emergency medical intervention,
- Have intellectual disabilities, or Have visual or hearing impairments.
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
Turkey (Türkiye)1 site
Bilecik Seyh Edebali University
Bilecik, Turkey, 11230
Fulya KOS, 05300974816, fulya.kos@bilecik.edu.tr
About this study
Official title: The Effect of Multisensory Stimulation Administered Before Clinical Encounters at the Pediatric Surgery Outpatient Clinic on Children's Anxiety and Fear Levels and Parental Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Study
Encounters with healthcare services during childhood, particularly surgical evaluation processes, are a significant source of stress for both children and their parents. The initial evaluation, physical examination, and the prospect of a possible procedure conducted in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics can lead to increased levels of anxiety and fear in children. This situation not only affects the child's current psychological state but also reduces their cooperation during the examination, makes collaboration with healthcare professionals more difficult, and can negatively impact the overall healthcare experience. Increased levels of anxiety and fear in children are not limited to emotional reactions alone; they also affect physiological and behavioral responses, thereby shaping the entire healthcare process. Similarly, parents may also experience significant situational anxiety due to uncertainty about their child's health status, the possibility of surgical intervention, and the responsibility for care. Parental anxiety is a significant factor that can influence children's levels of anxiety and fear and can indirectly shape the child's healthcare experience through parent-child interaction.
Read the detailed description
In recent years, there has been an interest in non-pharmacological interventions to address anxiety and fear levels in pediatric healthcare. Methods such as distraction techniques, digital applications, game solutions, and multisensory stimulation have proven effective in children's health experiences. Multisensory stimulation, particularly with materials containing content targeting the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and touch, is a holistic, non-pharmacological approach that helps reduce developmental stage problems, behavioral issues, pain, fear, and anxiety in children. In its basic mechanism, multisensory stimulation activates tactile, thermal, and emotional systems, providing multiple stimuli and diverting children's attention away from the stressor through simultaneous auditory stimuli. The resulting sensory integration and attention redirection effect can contribute to the improvement of anxiety and fear levels. Among multisensory stimulation applications are: Mother-baby communication, skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding which activates sensory receptors and taste in the skin, the use of amniotic fluid or aromatic scents are included. In addition, practices such as making eye contact with the baby, speaking in a soft tone of voice, massaging, coordinating and using parental credit are among the components of multisensory stimulation. However, it is noted that this is largely focused on childbirth and that the clinical limits are restricted.
There is limited scientific evidence in the literature that multisensory stimulation may be effective in reducing pain and fear, especially after surgical procedures, in the days of birth. It is observed that the current centers, with multiple voice alerts, are quite limited in addressing the anxiety and fear at home before clinical encounters in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics, where most neonatal or pre-operative processes are evaluated, and the situational anxiety of individuals is addressed together with outbreaks. However, the outpatient setting has critical relationships as the first point of contact with the modern health system, and the anxiety, fear, and parental anxiety experienced at this stage significantly affect the child's subsequent health experiences and compliance with health services. Therefore, the emergence of effective, short-term, and non-pharmacological interventions in the pre-clinical encounter period will be of great importance. In line with this, these randomized controlled trials are planned to examine the effect of multiple sensory stimuli on the situational anxiety of individuals in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics, prior to clinical encounters, and in terms of anxiety and fear. The study results will contribute to supporting a low-level, effective, and effective intervention in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics. Furthermore, it will lay the groundwork for demonstrable practices that will strengthen this developmental, child and family-centered care approach and contribute to the widespread use of psychosocial support practices in pediatric health services.
- Conditions
- Anxiety, Fear, Multisensory Stimulation, Pediatric Surgery, Parental Anxiety, Randomized Controlled Study
- Being tested
- Multisensory Stimulation
- Keywords
- anxiety, fear, parental anxiety, multisensory stimulation, pediatric surgery
- Medical subject headings
- Anxiety Disorders
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Multisensory StimulationOther
Multisensory Stimulation
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| The Effect of Multisensory Stimulation on Pain and Anxiety in Children with Pediatric Surgery | Experimental | The Effect of Multisensory Stimulation on Pain and Anxiety in Children with Pediatric Surgery Receives: Other: Multisensory Stimulation |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Children's Pre-procedural Anxiety Level
Children's Anxiety Scale - State Scale The CAS-S resembles a thermometer featuring a bulb at the bottom and horizontal lines spaced at intervals as they rise upwards. Designed for children aged four to ten, this scale instructs children to "Imagine that all your anxious or nervous feelings are in the bulb or lower part of the thermometer." "If you feel a little anxious or tense, your feelings may rise a little higher on the thermometer. "Put a line on the thermometer to show how anxious or nervous you are." It was discovered during the researchers' data collection process that some children were familiar with the typical mercury thermometer represented on the scale, and when children did not understand this analogy, they used an alternative scenario that did not explicitly describe a thermometer. Children are told, "Think of all the anxious or nervous feelings as being at the bottom here (point with your finger on the scale).
Measured: (Baseline / Pre-encounter
Secondary outcomes (1)
Children's Fear Level
The Child Fear Scale (CFS), validated and proven reliable by Gerçeker et al. (2018), is used to measure a child's anxiety level. The CFS is a scale that evaluates children's anxiety levels using a 0-4 rating system, consisting of five drawn facial expressions ranging from a neutral expression (0=no anxiety) to a frightened face (4=severe anxiety). It can be used by families and researchers to assess pre-procedural and intra-procedural pain and anxiety in children and is aimed at children aged 5-10 years. The CFS is based on the Faces Anxiety Scale developed by McKinley et al. (2003) to measure the fear or anxiety of adults in the intensive care unit. It is a scale consisting of one item and five gender-neutral faces. The facial muscle changes in the fearful expressions were drawn by a graphic artist based on photographs of frightened faces. The scale will be administered to children as a pre-test and post-test.
Measured: Baseline / Pre-encounter
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted18 Aug 2026
- Study start29 Jul 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion15 Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion1 Sep 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (1)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for AnxietyStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
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
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Bilecik Seyh Edebali Universitesi
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Fulya Kos, Bilecik Seyh Edebali Universitesi
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07769788
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- Bilecik-BSEU3
- Status last verified
- Aug 2026
- First submitted
- 10 Aug 2026
- Last updated
- 19 Aug 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: Individual Participant Data (IPD) will not be made publicly available or shared for this study due to ethical considerations regarding participant confidentiality and the explicit terms of the informed consent protocol. Specifically: Informed Consent Constraints: The informed consent forms approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Ethics Committee and signed by the parents/guardians do not include permissions for raw, individual-level data sharing with external third parties or public repositories. Privacy and Vulnerability: Given that the study population consists of pediatric patients undergoing clinical evaluations, raw IPD contains sensitive demographic and clinical details that could potentially compromise participant anonymity. De-identified aggregate statistical data, protocol details, and final study findings will be made available through published peer-reviewed journal articles and clinical trial registries upon study completion.
Publications
No publications resulting from this study are available at this time as the trial is currently ongoing.
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 19 Aug 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Effect of Multisensory Stimulation Administered Before Clinical Encounters at the Pediatric Surgery Outpatient Clinic on Children's Anxiety and Fear Levels and Parental Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Study
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07769788
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- Bilecik-BSEU3
- Conditions
- Anxiety, Fear, Multisensory Stimulation, Pediatric Surgery, Parental Anxiety, Randomized Controlled Study
- Keywords
- anxiety, fear, parental anxiety, multisensory stimulation, pediatric surgery
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Not yet recruiting
- Enrolment
- 80 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- Bilecik Seyh Edebali UniversitesiUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 29 Jul 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion
- 15 Aug 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion
- 1 Sep 2026 (estimated)
- First posted
- 18 Aug 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Encounters with healthcare services during childhood, particularly surgical evaluation processes, are a significant source of stress for both children and their parents. The initial evaluation, physical examination, and the prospect of a possible procedure conducted in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics can lead to increased levels of anxiety and fear in children. This situation not only affects the child's current psychological state but also reduces their cooperation during the examination, makes collaboration with healthcare professionals more difficult, and can negatively impact the overall healthcare experience. Increased levels of anxiety and fear in children are not limited to emotional reactions alone; they also affect physiological and behavioral responses, thereby shaping the entire healthcare process. Similarly, parents may also experience significant situational anxiety due to uncertainty about their child's health status, the possibility of surgical intervention, and the responsibility for care. Parental anxiety is a significant factor that can influence children's levels of anxiety and fear and can indirectly shape the child's healthcare experience through parent-child interaction.
Detailed description
In recent years, there has been an interest in non-pharmacological interventions to address anxiety and fear levels in pediatric healthcare. Methods such as distraction techniques, digital applications, game solutions, and multisensory stimulation have proven effective in children's health experiences. Multisensory stimulation, particularly with materials containing content targeting the senses of sight, hearing, smell, and touch, is a holistic, non-pharmacological approach that helps reduce developmental stage problems, behavioral issues, pain, fear, and anxiety in children. In its basic mechanism, multisensory stimulation activates tactile, thermal, and emotional systems, providing multiple stimuli and diverting children's attention away from the stressor through simultaneous auditory stimuli. The resulting sensory integration and attention redirection effect can contribute to the improvement of anxiety and fear levels. Among multisensory stimulation applications are: Mother-baby communication, skin-to-skin contact, breastfeeding which activates sensory receptors and taste in the skin, the use of amniotic fluid or aromatic scents are included. In addition, practices such as making eye contact with the baby, speaking in a soft tone of voice, massaging, coordinating and using parental credit are among the components of multisensory stimulation. However, it is noted that this is largely focused on childbirth and that the clinical limits are restricted.
There is limited scientific evidence in the literature that multisensory stimulation may be effective in reducing pain and fear, especially after surgical procedures, in the days of birth. It is observed that the current centers, with multiple voice alerts, are quite limited in addressing the anxiety and fear at home before clinical encounters in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics, where most neonatal or pre-operative processes are evaluated, and the situational anxiety of individuals is addressed together with outbreaks. However, the outpatient setting has critical relationships as the first point of contact with the modern health system, and the anxiety, fear, and parental anxiety experienced at this stage significantly affect the child's subsequent health experiences and compliance with health services. Therefore, the emergence of effective, short-term, and non-pharmacological interventions in the pre-clinical encounter period will be of great importance. In line with this, these randomized controlled trials are planned to examine the effect of multiple sensory stimuli on the situational anxiety of individuals in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics, prior to clinical encounters, and in terms of anxiety and fear. The study results will contribute to supporting a low-level, effective, and effective intervention in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics. Furthermore, it will lay the groundwork for demonstrable practices that will strengthen this developmental, child and family-centered care approach and contribute to the widespread use of psychosocial support practices in pediatric health services.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Health services research
- Allocation
- Not applicable
- Intervention model
- Single group
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 1
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| The Effect of Multisensory Stimulation on Pain and Anxiety in Children with Pediatric Surgery | Experimental | Other: Multisensory StimulationThe Effect of Multisensory Stimulation on Pain and Anxiety in Children with Pediatric Surgery |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 5 to 10 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- For the children to be sampled, the inclusion criteria plan to involve children who:
- Are aged between 5 and 10 years,
- Are undergoing their first outpatient pediatric surgery evaluation,
- Have no prior history of surgery, and Agree (along with their parents) to voluntarily participate in the study.
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- For the children to be sampled, the exclusion criteria plan to omit children who:
- Are in unstable general condition or require emergency medical intervention,
- Have intellectual disabilities, or Have visual or hearing impairments.
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Multisensory StimulationMultisensory Stimulation | Other | The Effect of Multisensory Stimulation on Pain and Anxiety in Children with Pediatric Surgery |
Primary outcome
Children's Pre-procedural Anxiety Level
Time frame: (Baseline / Pre-encounter
Children's Anxiety Scale - State Scale The CAS-S resembles a thermometer featuring a bulb at the bottom and horizontal lines spaced at intervals as they rise upwards. Designed for children aged four to ten, this scale instructs children to "Imagine that all your anxious or nervous feelings are in the bulb or lower part of the thermometer." "If you feel a little anxious or tense, your feelings may rise a little higher on the thermometer. "Put a line on the thermometer to show how anxious or nervous you are." It was discovered during the researchers' data collection process that some children were familiar with the typical mercury thermometer represented on the scale, and when children did not understand this analogy, they used an alternative scenario that did not explicitly describe a thermometer. Children are told, "Think of all the anxious or nervous feelings as being at the bottom here (point with your finger on the scale).
1 secondary outcome
Children's Fear Level
Time frame: Baseline / Pre-encounter
Results and safety
This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 19 Aug 2026.
- Results publicationNo publications resulting from this study are available at this time as the trial is currently ongoing.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. Individual Participant Data (IPD) will not be made publicly available or shared for this study due to ethical considerations regarding participant confidentiality and the explicit terms of the informed consent protocol. Specifically: Informed Consent Constraints: The informed consent forms approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Ethics Committee and signed by the parents/guardians do not include permissions for raw, individual-level data sharing with external third parties or public repositories. Privacy and Vulnerability: Given that the study population consists of pediatric patients undergoing clinical evaluations, raw IPD contains sensitive demographic and clinical details that could potentially compromise participant anonymity. De-identified aggregate statistical data, protocol details, and final study findings will be made available through published peer-reviewed journal articles and clinical trial registries upon study completion.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Multisensory Stimulation in people with Anxiety and Fear, run by Bilecik Seyh Edebali Universitesi 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 4 inclusion and 3 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: opening soon, as of the sponsor's last update on 19 Aug 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 Fulya Merve FMK KOS, Assis Prof Dr (05300974816, fulya.kos@bilecik.edu.tr), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Children's Pre-procedural Anxiety Level (time frame: (Baseline / Pre-encounter). 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 NCT07769788, which also lists 1 linked publication.
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 19 Aug 2026.