Background The use of new digital technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), and the inclusion of games in care settings may reduce children's anxiety, fear, and pain by distracting them from the procedure. Purpose This parallel-group randomized controlled trial aimed to evaluate the effects of active and passive VR as distraction methods administered before circumcision on anxiety, fear, and pain in children aged 7–12 years. Methods This study was conducted at the pediatric urology clinic of a university hospital in western Turkey. The children were randomly assigned to three groups: active VR (n = 32), passive VR (n = 32), and control (n = 32). VR interventions were used only before the circumcision procedure and were not continued during the procedure. Anxiety, fear, pain, and vital signs were assessed before and after circumcision. Results Anxiety and fear levels in the active and passive groups were significantly lower than those in the control group (p < 0.05). No significant between-group differences were found in pain level, heart rate, or oxygen saturation after circumcision (p > 0.05). Conclusion and practice implications Children in the active VR group who played an interactive game before the circumcision procedure showed a greater reduction in fear and anxiety. These results support the effect of VR on anticipatory anxiety and fear during the preoperative period. The use of VR as a non-pharmacological method in healthcare settings may help children relax before undergoing medical procedures.
Background This study aimed to explore how mothers of children diagnosed with cancer experience and reconstruct self-worth throughout the illness trajectory, with particular attention to emotional vulnerability, meaning-making, relational processes, and everyday coping. Method A qualitative study using a photovoice-informed visual approach was conducted within a hermeneutic phenomenological framework. The study was conducted between February and March 2026 in paediatric oncology units in Ankara and Kocaeli, Türkiye. Purposive sampling was used, and mothers of children diagnosed with cancer participated. Data were collected through an Introductory Information Form, participant-generated photographs, and semi-structured in-depth interviews. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed according to hermeneutic phenomenological principles, supported by MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2020. Results Eighteen mothers participated and three main themes were identified. First, self-worth was shaped through emotional vulnerability and empowerment, with mothers describing guilt, inadequacy, hope, strength, and the need to remain emotionally visible and understood. Second, visual narratives enabled mothers to make sense of the illness trajectory as a symbolic, emotional, and existential experience, rendering abstract and painful experiences more understandable and manageable. Third, self-worth was reconstructed in everyday life through coping strategies, relational support, caregiving responsibilities, and the reorganisation of daily routines. Across themes, self-worth was not immutable but emerged as a dynamic, relational process continually reshaped through caregiving, meaning-making, and social interaction. Conclusion Mothers of children with cancer experience self-worth as a fluid, multilayered process shaped by emotional visibility, empathic relationships, spiritual and relational resources, and meaning-making. The photovoice-informed visual approach provided a reflective space for mothers to express and interpret these experiences.
Purpose Children receiving cancer treatment frequently experience anxiety, mood disturbances, and symptom burden during hospitalization. This study examined structured music therapy in relation to anxiety, mood, and symptom burden among hospitalized pediatric oncology patients aged 6–12 years. Design and methods This quasi-experimental, non-randomized, single-group sequential control-phase/intervention-phase repeated-measures pretest–posttest study was conducted in a pediatric hematology–oncology unit in Türkiye between December 2024 and November 2025. Thirty children were first observed during a routine-care control phase and then participated in a structured music therapy phase. The intervention included four individual sessions delivered twice weekly over two weeks. Outcomes were assessed at matched twice-weekly measurement points across both phases using the State Anxiety Scale for Children, Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire–Child Form, Short Mood and Feelings Questionnaire–Parent Form, and Symptom Screening in Pediatrics Tool. Repeated-measures ANOVA examined condition, time, and condition × time effects. Effect sizes were reported using partial eta squared (ηp2). The study was not prospectively registered. Results Anxiety showed significant condition, time, and condition × time effects (ηp2 = 0.607, 0.136, and 0.226, respectively), suggesting a favorable anxiety-related pattern during the structured music therapy phase. Child-reported mood showed significant condition and time effects, whereas parent-reported mood and symptom burden showed significant condition effects only. Non-significant interaction effects were interpreted cautiously. These findings indicate associations and favorable trends rather than definitive causal effects and require confirmation in larger randomized multicenter studies with follow-up. Practice implications Structured music therapy may be a feasible supportive intervention associated with favorable anxiety-related outcomes and may support holistic, child-centered pediatric oncology nursing care when implemented through interdisciplinary collaboration and standardized protocols.
Background Preterm neonates have an immature skin barrier, increasing their susceptibility to moisture loss and impaired skin integrity. However, evidence regarding the most appropriate topical moisturising agent for this population remains limited. Purpose This trial aims to investigate the effects of applying coconut oil and a moisturising lotion to the skin of preterm neonates on their skin moisture, skin pH, skin integrity, and vital signs. Methods This randomised controlled trial was conducted with 90 preterm neonates with a gestational age of 320/7–376/7 weeks who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit between December 2024 and December 2025. The sample consisted of two intervention groups and one control group [Moisturising Lotion (ML) group (n = 30), Coconut Oil (CO) group (n = 30) and Control group (n = 30)]. The data were collected using an Infant Information and Monitoring Form, a skin moisture meter, a skin pH meter and the Neonatal Skin Condition Score (NSCS). Results Following the application, skin moisture rates in the abdominal, arm and leg regions significantly rose in the intervention groups compared with the control group (p < .05). A significant rise was found in intra-group skin pH values on the 3rd and 5th days in the ML group and on day 5 in the CO group (p < .05). The NSCS score significantly dropped over time in both intervention groups (p < .001). Effect size analyses indicated a more pronounced improvement in skin condition scores in the CO group (p < .001; η2 = 0.551). Conclusion The results of this study indicated that interventions of coconut oil and moisturising lotion may be effective in improving skin moisture and supporting skin integrity in preterm neonates. As coconut oil has a greater effect on the skin integrity of premature infants, using it as a moisturising topical agent is recommended. Practice implications Coconut oil and moisturising lotion may be considered low-cost and safe nursing interventions to support skin hydration and skin integrity in preterm neonates. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT07503457
Objectives This study examined the relationship between e-healthy nutrition literacy, maternal feeding attitudes, and anxiety levels in mothers of children with food allergies. Method This descriptive and correlational study was conducted between November 2024 and May 2025 with 174 mothers of children aged 0–6 years diagnosed with food allergies in western Türkiye. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using the Sociodemographic Information Form, the e-Healthy Nutrition Literacy Scale, the Maternal Attitudes Toward Feeding Scale, and the Trait Anxiety Inventory to assess maternal anxiety. Descriptive statistics, correlation analyses, and multiple linear regression analyses including allergy-related symptom categories as predictors were performed. Results No significant relationship was found between e-healthy nutrition literacy and maternal anxiety or feeding attitudes. However, maternal feeding attitudes were positively associated with anxiety levels (p < 0.001). Regression analyses showed that e-healthy nutrition literacy was not a significant predictor of maternal anxiety or feeding attitudes. Breastfeeding status and systemic/cardiovascular symptoms were associated with maternal anxiety, whereas breastfeeding status, number of children, income level, and systemic/cardiovascular symptoms were associated with feeding attitudes. Mean scores were 37.23 ± 6.11 for e-healthy nutrition literacy, 71.40 ± 16.86 for maternal feeding attitudes, and 46.39 ± 7.47 for trait anxiety. Conclusion Maternal anxiety and feeding attitudes appear to be influenced more by clinical and caregiving-related factors than by e-healthy nutrition literacy alone. These findings highlight the importance of holistic approaches addressing both clinical and psychosocial dimensions in childhood food allergy management. Practice implications Nursing interventions focusing on symptom management and maternal coping may help reduce anxiety and improve the feeding process.
