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A Familiarization Protocol Facilitates the Participation of Children with ASD in Electrophysiological Research
Published on: July 31, 2017
A pilot study to improve venipuncture compliance in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders
Caroline J Davit1, Rachel J Hundley, Janine D Bacic
1Neurodevelopmental Disorders Phenotyping Program, Division of Developmental Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
Insights
The Blood Draw Intervention Program significantly improved blood draw compliance in children with autism spectrum disorder, increasing success rates from 85.4% to 96.6%. This effective intervention requires minimal time and effort from families and providers.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare
- Autism spectrum disorder research
- Behavioral interventions
Background:
- Venipuncture causes distress and noncompliance in children, particularly those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
- Limited research exists on the prevalence and effective interventions for blood draw-related distress in children with ASD.
- Noncompliance during blood draws has significant clinical and research implications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate the Blood Draw Intervention Program for children with ASD.
- To assess the program's effectiveness in reducing negative behaviors and increasing blood draw compliance.
- To create an intervention that is easy to use and requires minimal time and effort.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-randomized trial was conducted over approximately 18 months.
- 58 out of 210 families with children with ASD utilized the Blood Draw Intervention Program.
- The study focused on families reporting significant concerns about blood draws.
Main Results:
- Completion of the program led to a significant increase in blood draw compliance rates.
- Compliance rates rose from 85.4% to 96.6% (odds ratio = 4.80, p = .03).
Conclusions:
- The Blood Draw Intervention Program demonstrated efficacy in a research setting.
- The program shows potential for clinical application in managing pediatric venipuncture challenges.
- This intervention is effective without demanding extensive time, training, or institutional changes from providers and families.
Objective:
Medical procedures, particularly venipuncture (the puncture of a vein especially for the withdrawal of blood), can cause serious distress and behavior disturbance for many children. Noncompliance to blood draws can have significant ramifications in both research and clinical settings. The negative reactions may be exacerbated in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Even so, there has been little research into the prevalence of the problem or effective intervention procedures. In response to these concerns, we developed and evaluated the Blood Draw Intervention Program. The program was designed to be easy to use, require little provider or family time, effectively reduce negative behaviors, and increase blood draw compliance.
Method:
In a quasi-randomized trial over the course of ∼ 18 months, 58 of 210 families with children with autism spectrum disorders participating in a larger study of phenotypic and genotypic factors reported significant concerns about blood draws and elected to use the Blood Draw Intervention Program.
Results:
Completion of the program increased blood draw compliance rates from 85.4% to 96.6% (odds ratio = 4.80; 95% confidence interval = 1.12, 20.59; p = .03).
Conclusion:
Results indicate the efficacy of the program in a research setting and suggest a potential clinical application. The current intervention, unlike many others for the same or similar difficulties proposed in the past, was successful without requiring extensive time, training, or effort on the part of providers and parents or their children, nor did it require large-scale institutional changes.
