Effectiveness of Tom and Jerry Cartoon in Reducing Anxiety in Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Anxiety is a significant psychological challenge for patients newly diagnosed with cancer and scheduled for chemotherapy, potentially affecting their treatment adherence. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of watching the Tom and Jerry cartoon on reducing anxiety in individuals undergoing chemotherapy for the first time.Method: This pilot study employed a prospective, non-randomized, observational, two-arm, pre-and post-test design involving literate English-speaking patients (test group) and non-literate patients (control group) who were about to receive cytotoxic chemotherapy for their cancer. The test group viewed Tom and Jerry cartoons via video systems, whereas the control group was exposed to Kannada movies. An 11-point Likert scale featuring facial expressions assessed patients' anxiety levels three times: 20 minutes before, 30 minutes after, and following the chemotherapy session. Data analysis included frequency, percentage, chi-square tests for patient and treatment data, and repeated measures ANOVA with Bonferroni correction for anxiety scores at three-time intervals. A P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The anxiety assessment outcomes indicated a significant reduction in anxiety levels among the test group patients who watched Tom and Jerry compared to the control group (P ≤ 0.001). Inter-group comparisons, analyzed using the Bonferroni test, revealed significant differences in anxiety reduction 30 minutes post-viewing (P = 0.001) and after the treatment (P = 0.04).Conclusion: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the efficacy of the Tom and Jerry cartoon in alleviating anxiety among cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, suggesting broad clinical applicability.

Keywords

• anxiety
• virtual reality
• pain
• distraction