27 Feb 2008
Kids' pre-surgery jitters begone -- An animated video by a team of play specialists in KKH will help children who need surgery feel less scared. By Pamela Woo.
The Straits Times (Mind Your Body) - pg 7
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A screen shot of the animated video that helps to prepare children for surgery. (Photo: KKH)
Children sometimes have to go under the surgeon's knife. And the sheer thought of it - thanks to images derived from TV shows and movies - must be terrifying.
KK Women's and Children's Hospital (KKH) play specialist Rachel Woon had an idea to make children less scared. She and her colleagues produced a six-minute animated video (left) that should help put children waiting for surgery at ease.
The filmlet, aimed at children aged three years and above, |
won the inaugural SingHealth Allied Health Innovative Practice Award last November.
Ms Woon said that KKH has a small team of play specialists who do not have time to counsel every child before he has surgery.
"I realised that animation would be an excellent way to engage children and to reach out to more children than we can see in person," she said.
The video follows a young girl's journey during a hospital stay and surgery.
The animated characters speak in child-friendly language and often joke about things like the doctors wearing "funny green hats".
The narrator is a giraffe called Dr G, who explains the procedures of the surgery in a light-hearted manner.
Dr G also constantly reminds children to ask questions when they are in doubt. And he reassures kids, for example, by telling them that an anaesthetic mask is soft like a sponge and smells of strawberries.
"Many parents and children do not know what to expect and this causes anxiety and stress," said Ms Woon.
From March 8, a DVD of the video will be given free to patients and their families after their first clinic visits. There are plans for it to be viewed on the KKH website later.
Parents are encouraged to watch this video with their children so that they will be prepared for the basic sequence of events prior to and after surgery. And hopefully they can prepare for it with their children, said Ms Woon.
Abhinash Chandran, 16, who suffers from a genetic disorder and is awaiting surgery, has watched the video.
His mother, Madam Rabitah Syed Almagdad, 41, said she feels the video shows what parents should know before their children go for surgery.
Children will feel more assured when their parents are calm and prepared for their children's hospital stay, she added.
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