A Comparison of Distraction Strategies for Venipuncture Distress in Children
Open Access
- 23 February 2005
- journal article
- clinical trial
- Published by Oxford University Press (OUP) in Journal of Pediatric Psychology
- Vol. 30 (5) , 387-396
- https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsi062
Abstract
Objective To compare the effects of two pediatric venipuncture distress-management distraction strategies that differed in the degree to which they required children’s interaction. Methods Eighty-eight 1- to 7-year-old children receiving venipuncture were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: interactive toy distraction, passive movie distraction, or standard care. Distress was examined via parent, nurse, self-report (children over 4 years), and observational coding. Engagement in distraction was assessed via observational coding.ResultsChildren in the passive condition were more distracted and less distressed than children in the interactive condition. Although children in the interactive condition were more distracted than standard care children, there were no differences in distress between these groups. Conclusions Despite literature that suggests that interactive distraction should lower distress more than passive distraction, results indicate that a passive strategy might be most effective for children’s venipuncture. It is possible that children’s distress interfered with their ability to interact with the distractor.Keywords
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- A Child-Focused Intervention for Coping With Procedural Pain: Are Parent and Nurse Coaches Necessary?Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 2002
- Reducing infant immunization distress through distraction.Health Psychology, 2002
- Making vaccines more acceptable — methods to prevent and minimize pain and other common adverse events associated with vaccinesVaccine, 2001
- Using Distraction to Reduce Reported Pain, Fear, and Behavioral Distress in Children and Adolescents: A Multisite StudyJournal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 2000
- Comparative study of distraction versus topical anesthesia for pediatric pain management during immunizations.Health Psychology, 1999
- The Impact of Previous Experience on Children's Reactions to VenepuncturesJournal of Health Psychology, 1998
- Nurse Coaching and Cartoon Distraction: An Efective and Practical Intervention to Reduce Child, Parent, and Nurse Distress During ImmunizationsJournal of Pediatric Psychology, 1997
- Use of lidocaine-prilocaine cream for vaccination pain in infantsThe Journal of Pediatrics, 1994
- Training children to cope and parents to coach themduring routine immunizations: Effects on child, parent, and staff behaviorsBehavior Therapy, 1992
- Developmental changes in infant pain expression during immunization injectionsSocial Science & Medicine, 1984