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It's Not Just a Needlestick: Exploring Phlebotomists' Knowledge, Training, and Use of Comfort Measures in Pediatric
Julie Piazza1,2, Sandra Merkel3, Harry Neusius4
1University of Michigan Medicine, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI; julipiaz@med.umich.edu.
Insights
Pediatric phlebotomists infrequently use comfort techniques during blood draws, with many lacking child development training. Enhancing training in comfort measures is crucial for improving children's experiences.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric healthcare
- Patient comfort and pain management
Background:
- Blood draws are a common yet fear-inducing procedure for children.
- Limited research exists on phlebotomists' training and use of comfort techniques for pediatric patients.
- Current phlebotomist training prioritizes clinical skills over pediatric patient comfort.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore current practices and training methods of phlebotomists regarding pediatric blood draws.
- To identify challenges faced by phlebotomists during pediatric blood draws.
- To develop a measurement tool for assessing phlebotomists' use of comfort techniques.
Main Methods:
- Focus groups with parent advocates and phlebotomists refined a survey questionnaire.
- The revised survey was distributed to 128 hospital system phlebotomists.
- Participant demographics and training backgrounds were collected.
Main Results:
- Nearly half of surveyed phlebotomists lacked child development training.
- Commonly used comfort measures included verbal reassurance, positioning, and distraction.
- Less frequent measures involved child life specialist support and pain management devices.
- Anxious patients and parents were identified as primary challenges.
Conclusions:
- Phlebotomists' application of comfort measures during pediatric blood draws is infrequent.
- Integrating child development and comfort techniques into training is vital.
- Improved training can lead to more positive experiences for pediatric patients during blood draws.
Background:
Blood draws are a routine element of the pediatric patient experience. They are also associated with the greatest fear and pain for a child. Because of the limited literature regarding phlebotomists' knowledge, experience, training, or stress related to their use of comfort techniques during pediatric blood draws, this study explored current practices and training methods. Phlebotomist training tends to focus on clinical technique rather than pediatric or patient comfort support. The study includes aims to develop a measurement for phlebotomists' use of comfort techniques for pediatric blood draws.
Method:
Focus groups of parent advocates (n = 24) and pediatric phlebotomists (n = 11) reviewed the survey questionnaire, and it was revised before being e-mailed to hospital system phlebotomists (n = 128).
Results:
Almost half of the sample group lacked training in child development. The most frequently used comfort measures were words of explanation and reassurance, positioning of the child, and distraction. Requesting child life specialist support and using pain management devices or topical anesthetics were used less often. Primary challenges to performing pediatric blood draws were anxious patients and parents.
Conclusion:
Phlebotomists' use of available comfort measures occurs infrequently. Including child development and comfort techniques in training programs is essential to providing pediatric patients with a more satisfactory experience.
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