Verändert sich das gesundheits- und krankheitsbezogene Wissen von Vorschulkindern durch einen Besuch der "Teddyklinik Marburg"?

Objective The “Teddy Bear Hospital” (TBH) is a medical students’ project, which has been established meanwhile in a number of countries. To evaluate the benefits of this concept, we have examined the effects of a German TBH on children’s knowledge about their body, health and disease. Methods Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design, we have examined 131 preschool children (study group: n = 79, control group: n = 52) aged 4.5 – 5.5 years from 14 German kindergartens with pictorial interview-based scales. The TBH-effectiveness was statistically tested by analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Results: The ANCOVA revealed that the children who had attended the TBH had a significantly better knowledge concerning their body, health and disease than children from the control group. Conclusion: This German TBH is a good health education instrument for preschool children. Long-lasting effects and impact on the medical students who act as “teddy doctors” should be explored in further studies. Practice Implication: Attending the TBH can have a significant and relevant effect on the children’s knowledge and understanding of their body, health and disease. The findings of our study should be replicated in a larger multi-centre study, in which individual interviews with the children and a randomized design can be realized.