Animated educational video to prepare children for MRI without sedation: evaluation of the appeal and value.

<bold>Background: </bold>MRI scans can be distressing for children and often require sedation. Educating children about what to expect reduces anxiety and increases likelihood of successful non-sedated MRI scans. Multimedia tools are a popular means of education. Animated video could provide a free, accessible method of preparing children for MRI scans.<bold>Objective: </bold>To evaluate a new animation video for preparing children for MRI, specifically for decreasing in-scanner motion and examination failure.<bold>Materials and Methods: </bold>We recruited 24 healthy children ages 5-11 years. Participants underwent pre- and post-viewing questionnaires and structured interviews. We then compared median Likert scale score changes between pre- and post-animation questions and analyzed the interview framework. Participants were filmed viewing the animation to calculate time spent looking at the screen to assess how well the video retained children's attention.<bold>Results: </bold>There were significant improvements in median scores regarding what to expect, checking for metal and keeping still. There were no significant changes in other knowledge-based topics. There were significant improvements in median scores for anxiety-based topics. On average, children watched the screen for 98.9% of the 174-s animation.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>The animation improved knowledge, reduced anxiety, retained attention and was enjoyed by participants. It can be accessed freely via the Internet to help prepare children ages 5-11 for having an MRI scan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]