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Active and passive distraction in children undergoing wound dressings

Stefan Nilsson1, Karin Enskär, Carina Hallqvist

  • 1School of Health Sciences, Borås University, Borås, Sweden. stefan_r.nilsson@hb.se

Journal of Pediatric Nursing
|July 24, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Serious gaming effectively reduced pain and distress in children during wound care. This active distraction method proved more effective than lollipops or no intervention, enhancing a child's sense of control.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Pain Management
  • Child Psychology
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • Wound care in children often causes significant pain, distress, and anxiety.
  • Effective non-pharmacological interventions are needed to mitigate procedural pain.
  • Distraction techniques are commonly used but their efficacy varies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To evaluate the impact of serious gaming as a distraction technique on pain, distress, and anxiety in children undergoing wound care.
  • To compare the effectiveness of serious gaming against lollipop distraction and a control group.
  • To explore the psychological mechanisms underlying distraction's effect on pediatric pain behavior.

Main Methods:

  • A randomized controlled trial involving 60 children aged 5-12 years.
  • Participants were assigned to three groups: serious gaming, lollipop use, or a control group.
  • Pain, distress, and anxiety were assessed using self-report measures and observed pain behaviors during wound care.

Main Results:

  • Serious gaming significantly reduced observed pain behaviors compared to the lollipop and control groups.
  • Self-reported distress was also lower in the serious gaming group.
  • No significant differences were found between the lollipop and control groups for most outcomes.

Conclusions:

  • Serious gaming serves as an effective active distraction strategy for managing pediatric procedural pain and distress.
  • The findings suggest that a sense of control and engagement are key factors in the efficacy of serious gaming for pain management.
  • Further research should explore the integration of serious gaming into routine pediatric healthcare settings.

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