{
  "abstract": "Why did you do this work? Teddy Bear Hospital (TBH) is a well-known project which aims to reduce children’s fear of hospitals. 1Whilst it is normally organised by medical students visiting local schools,2 we developed this further by organising a TBH in the paediatric outpatient department at the Royal United Hospital, Bath. Our aim was to familiarise children and their families with their local paediatric department and enable them to have a positive initial hospital experience. In addition to reducing children’s anxiety, this event was an opportunity to focus on strengthening inter-professional teamworking across the trust.What did you do? The TBH event was advertised to all primary schools within the local area, with an attached QR code for parents to book their free place. The day was split into two sessions, with a total number of 150 children attending. Each session included the following workshops: triage and nursing station; doctor’s consultation; plaster teddy’s broken arm; ‘healthy hearts’; dental hygiene and healthy plates; hand-washing; teddy goes to theatre; and an ambulance tour. The faculty included play specialists, ward clerks, nurses, healthcare students, surgeons, dentists, plaster technicians and emergency department staff. The attending children were asked to complete a short questionnaire before and after attending the event. This included questions asking how they feel about going to hospital, with a Likert scale to aid them.What did you find? 33 participants completed pre-attendance surveys and 34 participants completed post-attendance surveys. Before attending the event, 60% of children reported feeling either very scared or scared when visiting the hospital, whilst 40% of children felt either normal, happy or very happy. After the event, the number of children feeling either scared or very scared reduced to 28%, and those who felt normal, happy or very happy increased to 72%. Qualitative feedback from parents was overwhelmingly positive and described the event as being ‘one of the best days of my daughter’s life’, ‘accessible, fun’ and an ‘amazing learning opportunity’.What does it mean? This project demonstrates that implementing TBH in a hospital setting is an effective way to alleviate fear and anxiety around healthcare interactions for children and their families, by allowing children to have a positive initial hospital experience in a fun setting. This project also strengthened community relationships and engagement, whilst promoting team-working within the hospital trust.References Rashid AA, Cheong AT, Hisham R, Shamsuddin NH, Roslan D. Effectiveness of pretend medical play in improving children’s health outcomes and well-being: a systematic review. BMJ Open 2021 Jan 20;11(1):e041506. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041506. PMID: 33472781; PMCID: PMC7818823.Thambapillai S. Teddy bear hospital: where clinical gets cuddly. BMJ 2009;339:b4912 doi:10.1136/sbmj.b4912.",
  "authors": [
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "University Hospitals Bristol and Weston"
      ],
      "name": "Charlotte Horrigan"
    },
    {
      "affiliations": [
        "Southmead Hospital"
      ],
      "name": "Amy Brown"
    }
  ],
  "title": "8412 Teddy bear hospital (TBH) in a district general hospital outpatient department – an effective way to reduce fear of hospitals in children",
  "uid": "1090c045-43fd-5a2d-988c-eabd07ace725"
}