Increasing child involvement by understanding emotional expression during needle procedures: A video-observational...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Nursing
• Child Psychology
• Healthcare Communication

Background:

• Needle procedures are a common source of fear and pain for children.
• Effective child-nurse communication is crucial for managing pediatric procedural anxiety.
• Current communication strategies may not fully address children's emotional needs during interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the impact of a child-centered intervention on emotional communication between nurses and children during needle procedures.
• To compare child-nurse communication in an intervention group receiving the 'i Can Choose' program versus a control group.

Main Methods:

• A controlled, video-observational study involving 66 children and seven nurses.
• Data collection via video-recordings of child-nurse interactions during needle procedures.
• Comparison between standard care (control) and standard care plus the 'i Can Choose' intervention.

Main Results:

• Children primarily expressed negative emotions non-verbally.
• Children in the control group used more vague emotional descriptors than those in the intervention group (p < 0.001).
• The 'i Can Choose' intervention led to nurses providing more space for children's communication preferences, increasing child involvement.

Conclusions:

• Communicative interaction, rather than talking 'to' a child, is vital for managing pediatric fear and pain during needle procedures.
• A child-centered approach enhances emotional expression and involvement.
• The 'i Can Choose' intervention shows promise in improving pediatric procedural care.