TEHRAN- Iran’s first teddy bear hospital, aimed at reducing childhood anxiety about medical environments, procedures and professionals opened in the city of Yazd, said a faculty member of Yazd University of Medical Sciences. 

Medical students are taking part in running this project, said Fatemeh Zareh, the head of Psychological and Social Health Department of the university, ISNA reported on Tuesday. 

Teddy bear hospital (TBH) is an international project in which medical students interact with children and teach them that there is no reason to fear doctors or the procedures they perform.

According to Zareh, parenting workshop for parents, teaching children how to behave in medical environments and setting up playrooms for children are parts of this project. 

“Not only children will be introduced to hospitals, in a mock-up environment, but parents will also learn about different health topics such as dental care and food science,” she said. 

“This project will also help the staff to identify kids that might have some disorders. For example, there are painting classes for the children and the medical teams may suspect some psychological disorders with analyzing them. Some questionnaires that can detect childhood disorders will also be given to the parents and the families can be referred to a specialist if they want,” said Zareh. 

Zareh finally announced that families can bring their 3- to 7-year-old children to this hospital from April 10 to 12. 

SJ/MQ/MG