At the Timone hospital (Marseille), two interventional radiology technicians created videos to explain procedures with Playmobil.
How to explain complex, and sometimes invasive, acts to children? Not always simple or reassuring, neither for them nor for their parents. Céline Fernandez and Hanh Hervé, two technicians in medical electroradiology at the hospital of Timone (Marseille), had an idea: to create small videos explaining, in simple terms, the procedures… with Playmobil.
The two women wrote scripts, validated by the managers of the service, and shot – for the moment – two stop-motion videos. One to prepare children for a examination under general anesthesia, and the other for one vascular intervention under local anesthesia (venous malformation embolization).
Too technical documents
“We systematically distribute explanatory documents, which accompany the informed consent form,” says Why actor Prof. Philippe Petit, head of the pediatric imaging department at La Timone. But they are very technical. Moreover, they are not intended for children, and parents rarely understand them themselves. They leave everyone in the dark.
The care of the child is specific, and is done in dedicated centers. If they are often adapted for the child, embellished and personalized, their status of specialized center is scary. When it comes to taking pictures in a radiological environment, this does not pose too many problems, because the environment is not so worrying.
“But when the children arrive in the intervention room for an invasive examination, it’s different,” continues the radiologist. It looks like a surgical unit, with a whole battery of devices beeping and flashing. Manipulators and doctors wear gloves, charlottes and masks, and children only see the eyes. Which can be scary. “
Less burdensome interventions
Fear of the hospital, lack of understanding… The actions are distressing. The objective of the videos is therefore to involve the child, and to obtain his participation in the process. By preparing them, their anxiety decreases, which is beneficial in itself, but not only. Some procedures can be performed under local anesthesia, or even under hypnosis.
And for the latter, the video can be a factor triggering the child’s adhesion. By avoiding general anesthesia, the operations are less burdensome, and the patient comes out more quickly. The videos benefit the child, but also the hospital, which can reduce the staff required during operations, especially at anesthesiologists.
Forward the stories
Reluctant at first, the company Playmobil finally accepted that its small figures be used by the interventional radiology unit. And for the moment, even if still few patients have been able to see the video, the feedback is excellent, says Professor Petit. “Anything that contributes to the explanation, and helps reduce stress, is particularly well received,” he says.
And the initiative could spread oil: the scanner unit for the child of the Marseille hospital is also preparing its episode. No doubt more stories to tell soon …
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