Strategies to Overcome Blood-Injection-Injury Phobia of Senior High School Students: A Case Study

Abstract

This study on Blood-Injection-Injury (BII) phobia is often limited and understudied. Such fear is oxymoronic, especially for those in the field of medicine. BII phobia is a Specific Phobia, a type of anxiety disorder; wherein there is an acute fear and avoidance of stimuli or invasive medical procedures associated with blood, injections, and injury which is commonly known to children and young adults. This study aims to identify the strategies used by students in a medical institution with this kind of anxiety disorder. The researchers gave out questionnaires to all the Grade 12 students inDe La Salle Medical and Health Sciences Institute enrolled in the academic year 2018-2019. Qualifications of the participants in this study include a score of (2.5 ≤) in the Severity Measure for Specific Phobia –Adult questionnaire adopted from the American Psychiatric Association. This study utilized a case study research design, which is aimed to generalize over several units being observed. Association of models and theories were then employed to elicit the effectivity of the strategies to overcome BIIphobia despite the circumstances considered. An in-depth face-to-face interview was conducted with qualified respondents to address this objective. The researchers tabulated and interpreted the data gathered using frequency count. Results showed that the models and frameworks used were effective, namely: Cognitive-Behavioral model, The Biological “Preparedness Theory,” fear acquisition theory, Lang’s tripartite model, and Disgust, anxiety and fainting symptoms associated with blood-injection-injury fears: a structural model, that discuss fear acquisition during the pediatric stage and overcoming strategies. The strategies stated were effective in reducing the anxiety but not in overcoming the fear altogether. It is recommended that as early as childhood, symptoms of this anxiety disorder should not be taken lightly and the participants should be clinically diagnosed; consultation from a professional regarding this matter should be considered; higher sample and methodology is also recommended.