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Interactive music as a treatment for pain and stress in children during venipuncture: a randomized prospective study
Simona Caprilli1, Francesca Anastasi, Rosa Pia Lauro Grotto
1Pain Service and Palliative Care, Department of Oncoemathology, A. Meyer Children's Hospital, and Department of Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy. s.caprilli@meyer.it
Insights
Music significantly reduced children's distress and pain during blood tests. Trained musicians' presence lowered anxiety before, during, and after the procedure, offering a novel intervention for pediatric healthcare.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Child Health Interventions
- Music Therapy in Healthcare
Background:
- Venipuncture is a common yet highly fearful procedure for hospitalized children.
- Anxiety and distress are experienced by children before and during blood tests.
- Interventions should address the entire procedural experience, including waiting and preparation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if trained musicians can reduce distress and pain in children undergoing blood tests.
- To evaluate the impact of music intervention on the child's experience during venipuncture.
- To assess the effectiveness of music in pediatric procedural anxiety management.
Main Methods:
- 108 children (4-13 years) were randomly assigned to a music group or a control group.
- The music group interacted with trained musicians during blood tests with parental presence.
- Distress was measured using the Observation Scale of Behavioral Distress, and pain using the FACES scale.
Main Results:
- The music group exhibited significantly lower distress and pain intensity compared to the control group (p<.001; p<.05).
- Reductions in distress were observed before, during, and after the blood sampling procedure.
- A minor but significant reduction in needle-insertion pain was noted in the music group.
Conclusions:
- Professional musicians' presence effectively reduces children's distress and pain associated with blood tests.
- Music intervention offers a beneficial, non-pharmacological approach to managing pediatric procedural anxiety.
- The study highlights music's positive impact on the overall experience of venipuncture in children.
Objective:
The experience of venipuncture is seen by children as one of the most fearful experiences during hospitalization. Children experience anxiety both before and during the procedure. Therefore, any intervention aiming to prevent or reduce distress should focus on the entire experience of the procedure, including waiting, actual preparation, and conclusion. This study was designed to determine whether the presence of musicians, who had attended specific training to work in medical settings, could reduce distress and pain in children undergoing blood tests.
Methods:
Our sample population was composed of 108 unpremedicated children (4-13 years of age) undergoing blood tests. They were randomly assigned to a music group (n=54), in which the child underwent the procedure while interacting with the musicians in the presence of a parent or to a control group (n=54), in which only the parent provided support to the child during the procedure. The distress experienced by the child before, during and after the blood test was assessed with the Amended Form of the Observation Scale of Behavioral Distress, and pain experience with FACES scale (Wong Baker Scale) only after the venipuncture.
Results:
Our results show that distress and pain intensity was significantly lower (p<.001; p<.05) in the music group compared with the control group before, during, and after blood sampling.
Conclusions:
This controlled study demonstrates that songs and music, performed by "professional" musicians, have a beneficial effect in reducing distress before, during, and after blood tests. This study shows, moreover, that the presence of musicians has a minor, but yet significant, effect on pain due to needle insertion.