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The effects of three different distraction methods on pain and anxiety in children
Nejla Canbulat Sahiner1, Meltem Demirgoz Bal2
1Department of Pediatric Nursing, School of Health, Karamanoglu Mehmetbey University, Karaman, Turkey ncanbulat@gmail.com.
Insights
Distraction methods like cards, music, and balloons significantly reduce pain and anxiety in children during blood draws. These techniques offer effective, non-pharmacological relief for pediatric phlebotomy procedures.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare
- Pain Management
- Child Psychology
Background:
- Phlebotomy procedures in children can cause significant pain and anxiety.
- Effective non-pharmacological interventions are needed to manage procedural distress.
- Distraction techniques are a promising approach for pediatric pain and anxiety relief.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of three distraction methods (distraction cards, cartoon music, balloon inflation) on pain and anxiety during pediatric phlebotomy.
- To compare the efficacy of these distraction techniques against a control group.
- To assess self-reported pain and observer-reported anxiety levels.
Main Methods:
- Prospective, randomized, controlled trial involving 120 children aged 6-12 years.
- Children were allocated to four groups: distraction cards, music, balloon inflation, or control.
- Pain assessed using Wong-Baker FACES; anxiety using Children Fear Scale via self-report, parent, and observer interviews.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in self-reported pain levels were observed across groups (p = .040).
- The distraction card group reported significantly lower pain than the control group (p = .057).
- Observer-reported anxiety levels also showed significant differences among groups (p = .032), with all distractions reducing perception.
Conclusions:
- All tested distraction methods (cards, music, balloons) effectively reduced pain and anxiety during pediatric phlebotomy.
- Distraction cards showed a notable reduction in self-reported pain.
- These findings support the use of simple distraction techniques for managing pediatric procedural pain and anxiety.
Abstract:
This study aims to investigate of three different distraction methods (distraction cards, listening to the music of cartoon and balloon inflation) on pain and anxiety relief of children during phlebotomy. This study is a prospective, randomized, and controlled trial. The sample consisted of 6 to 12 years old children who require blood tests. Children were randomized into four groups as the distraction cards, the music, the balloon inflation, and the control. Data were obtained by conducting interviews with the children, their parents, and the observer before and after the procedure. The pain levels of the children were assessed by the parent and observer reports as well as self-report using the Wong-Baker FACES. The anxiety levels of children were assessed by parent and observer reports using Children Fear Scale. One hundred and twenty children (mean age: 9.1 ± 1.6 years) were included. The self-reported procedural pain levels showed significant differences among the study groups (p = .040). The distraction card group (2.33 ± 3.24) had significantly lower pain levels (p = .057) than the control group (4.53 ± 3.23). The procedural child anxiety levels reported by the observer showed a significant difference among the study groups (p = .032). All the forms of distraction significantly reduced pain and anxiety perception.
