Aplikasi Storytelling Boneka Tangan terhadap Penurunan Kecemasan Anak Prasekolah yang Diberikan Terapi Invasif

Invasive therapy is one of the procedures that causes fear and anxiety in preschool children during hospitalization. This anxiety can lead children to refuse medical procedures, thereby hindering the healing process, worsening their condition, and prolonging the length of hospital stay. Nursing interventions that can be implemented to reduce children’s anxiety include play therapy, one of which is storytelling. Storytelling play therapy is a play activity conducted through narration, utilizing the power of stories to convey messages, provide entertainment, and help children understand and process their experiences, thereby reducing anxiety during invasive procedures such as intravenous (IV) insertion. Applying hand puppet storytelling to preschool children with anxiety using an evidence-based practice approach. The design used in this Final Nursing Scientific Project was a case study with an intervention in the form of storytelling using hand puppet media for 10 minutes. The number of respondents was three children. The intervention was conducted on October 4, October 5, and November 29, 2025, in the Theresia Ward at Charitas Hospital Palembang. After the implementation of storytelling play therapy using hand puppets, changes in the children’s anxiety levels were observed. Child E’s anxiety decreased from a scale of 5 to 3, Child R’s from 5 to 3, and Child N’s from 4 to 2. There was a reduction in anxiety levels among all three respondents after receiving the storytelling intervention. The application of evidence-based storytelling play therapy using hand puppets can be utilized to reduce anxiety levels in preschool children who are about to undergo invasive therapy.