Ns. Yeni Iswari S.Kep., M.Kep., Sp. Kep.An Ketua Penguji Ns. Ratih Bayuningsih, M,Kep Dosen Pembimbing 1 Noni Hendrita Pengarang

ABSTRACT Hospitalization experienced by preschool-age children causes an increase in anxiety due to actions that cause trauma to a certain part, for example, when a child is about to have blood drawn, administer drugs, undergo surgical procedures, or receive medical treatment. Giving play therapy by coloring pictures can reduce the level of anxiety experienced by children because, by coloring, they can explore the feelings that are being experienced. Purpose: This study was to determine the effect of giving a picture coloring intervention on reducing anxiety levels in preschool-aged children undergoing hospitalization at Rawalumbu Hospital. Methods: The design of this study uses a quantitative approach with a quasi-experimental design, using a one-group pretest-posttest design. The number of samples used in this study was 38, using a purposive sampling technique. The research instrument used to measure the anxiety level of respondents was the HARS (Hamilton Anxiety Rate Scale) with the Wilcoxon test. Results: This study showed that there was an effect of giving a picture coloring intervention on reducing the anxiety level of preschool-age children undergoing hospitalization at Rawalumbu Hospital, which indicated a P-value of 0.000 where the number <α = 0.01. The conclusion from giving play therapy to preschoolers anxiety levels is that it is proven to have an effect on reducing anxiety levels in children undergoing hospitalization. Keywords: coloring pictures, anxiety level, preschool, hospitalization.