THE EFFECT OF CARTOON-BASED DISTRACTION ON PAIN PERCEPTION DURING INTRAVENOUS INJECTION AMONG PRESCHOOL CHILDREN

The health of the children is of vital importance in all societies. Preschool age is the age at which most of the children suffer with illness due to lack of immunity. Management of infection is mainly done by intravenous injection.For pediatric patients,medical procedures may cause pain and moreover it will be an unpleasant experience. The reduction of such pain and distress becomes the responsibility of health care professionals to an extent as possible while maintaining patient safety by using various pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions.From the reviews it is found that 90% of children got admitted were on IV antibiotics, every 6 to 8 hourlies, for which no distraction techniques were evident. So, there was a need to assess the effectiveness of Cartoon Show in clinical settings to relieve pain perception in preschool children who were undergoing painful procedures. Cartoon-based distraction is especially useful for preschool children during medical procedures. At this age, children respond strongly to visual and auditory stimuli, and cartoons naturally attract and hold their attention better than simple distractions such as toys.Familiar cartoon characters also help children feel more comfortable in an unfamiliar clinical environment. Seeing something they recognize creates a sense of safety and normalcy, which can reduce fear. In addition, the bright colours, movement, and engaging stories of cartoons can fully absorb the childs attention, helping to shift their focus away from medical equipment and the injection site.