Acceptability and feasibility of a therapeutic board game for children and adolescents with cancer: the Italian version of Shop Talk.

PURPOSE: Shop Talk is a therapeutic board game for children and adolescents with cancer, aimed at helping them talk about their disease, life, and emotions in a creative way and in a secure setting. The scope of this study was to translate Shop Talk into Italian, evaluating its acceptability, feasibility, and emotional impact. METHODS: The game board, question cards, and game instructions were translated into Italian from the original English-Spanish version. A sample of 30 pediatric patients aged 7-18 with cancer were enrolled and assigned to one of the following play settings: individual setting, caregiver setting, group setting. The patients' affectivity was assessed before (T0) and after (T1) the game session using PANAS-C. Acceptability and feasibility were assessed at T1 using a specifically designed questionnaire. RESULTS: The patients' acceptability and feasibility perception scores were high. Statistical analyses showed a significant decrease of the negative affect and a significant increase of the positive affect in patients. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that the patients involved appreciated the game and its content, purpose, and use. In addition, the game session with Shop Talk had a positive impact on the players' affectivity. Therefore, Shop Talk can be considered a useful tool for psychologists working with pediatric cancer patients in Italy.

Relaxation-guided imagery reduces perioperative anxiety and pain in children: a randomized study.

Several studies have shown the efficacy of psychological interventions in reducing preoperative anxiety in children undergoing surgery. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a specific non-pharmacological technique, the relaxation-guided imagery, in reducing both preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain in a sample of 60 children (6-12 years old) undergoing minor surgery who were randomly assigned to the experimental group (N = 30) or the control group (N = 30). The first group received the relaxation-guided imagery, before the induction of general anesthesia; the second group received standard care. The levels of preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain were assessed using, respectively, the modified Yale Preoperative Anxiety Scale and the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, and Consolability Scale. The results showed a statistically significant difference between groups, with less anxiety and less pain for children included in the experimental group (p < .001; p < .001).Conclusion: Results suggest that relaxation-guided imagery reduces preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain in children. Future studies should focus on developing protocols and studying the eventual reduction of administered drugs for anesthesia and pain. What is Known: • Literature suggests the usefulness of relaxation-guided imagery in reducing anxiety and pain in the perioperative period. • Stronger evidences are needed to support the application of relaxation-guided imagery as routine care in pediatric surgery. What is New: • To our knowledge, this is the first randomized study to investigate the efficacy of relaxation-guided imagery in reducing preoperative anxiety and postoperative pain within a single pediatric sample. • The present study provides stronger evidence in an area that is lacking in research.