Introduction: Concept map is one of the modern instructional methods in the sense that it is closely related to constructivism. The purpose of this study was Comparison the effect of orientation program used by visual concept map and face to face method on fear and anxiety of hospitalized children 6-9 years old in Sabzevar.
Method: The research project was a quasi-experimental design with pre-test and post-test. The subjects consisted of 44 hospitalized children 6-9 years old in Sabzevar, who were selected no randomly by method. Data collection tools were: demographic information questionnaire, Broom’s hospital fear and the State - Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC). Data were analyzed using SPSS (version 20) and Descriptive Statistics, Shapiro- Wilk, Chi-Square, Fishers Exact Test, Paired Sample T Test, Wilcoxon, Mann- Whitney U and ANCOVA.
Results: After orientation program used, in the visual concept map group and face to face method, fear and anxiety (state, trait and total) significantly decreased (p <0.05). Significant differences in trait and total anxiety between two groups were also observed (p <0.05).
Conclusion: Concept mapping was more effective in reducing on trait and total anxiety of hospitalized children than face to face method. The results suggest in the hospital setting, where nurses interfaces to time pressure, visual concept map can educate patients.