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Updated: Jun 13, 2026
Psychophysiological Assessment of the Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Strategies in Childhood
Published on: February 11, 2017
Positive Emotions in Pediatric Communication During Needle Procedures: An Observational Study
Kari Sørensen1, Hilde Wøien2, Lena Heyn3
1Department of Postgraduate Studies, Lovisenberg Diaconal University College, Oslo, Norway; Department of Pain Management and Research, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.
Insights
Nurses and parents frequently used positive emotions during needle procedures to comfort children. The Positive Emotion Communication (PEC) system identified these expressions, highlighting potential for improved pediatric care.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Healthcare Communication
- Child Psychology
- Nursing Research
Background:
- Children often experience fear and anxiety during needle procedures.
- Effective communication, particularly involving positive emotions, can reduce distress and strengthen the nurse-child relationship.
- Understanding the role of positive emotions in pediatric procedural communication is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and analyze expressions of positive emotions during procedural communication between children, parents, and nurses.
- To utilize the seven categories of the Positive Emotion Communication (PEC) coding system for analysis.
- To explore the impact of positive emotions on children's distress during needle procedures.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of nine video recordings of children undergoing needle injections.
- Application of the PEC coding system to identify positive emotion expressions.
- Descriptive statistical analysis of the identified positive emotion expressions.
Main Results:
- A total of 328 positive emotion expressions were identified.
- Nurses (60%) and parents (30.5%) were the primary sources of positive emotions, with children contributing 9.5%.
- Positive Focus was commonly used by all; nurses and parents favored Praise or Support, while children used Humor more.
Conclusions:
- Nurses frequently employed positive communication strategies during challenging pediatric procedures.
- The PEC coding system is valuable for pediatric communication research but needs enhancement to include nonverbal cues.
- Further research is recommended to refine the PEC system for a holistic understanding of positive communication in pediatric care.
Purpose:
Fear of pain and anxiety are common among children undergoing needle procedures. Actively involving the child in communication can help reduce their distress and foster a stronger nurse-child relationship. Positive emotions have the potential to strengthen the patient-nurse connection and may also play an important role in managing children's distress, though further research is needed to fully understand their impact. This study aimed to identify expressions of positive emotions in procedural communication between children, parents, and nurses, using the seven categories of the Positive Emotion Communication (PEC) coding system.
Design:
A secondary analysis of nine previously collected video recordings exploring fear and pain during needle injections among children recently diagnosed with rheumatic diseases. Positive emotions were identified using the PEC coding system, and the findings were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Results:
We identified 328 expressions of positive emotions (60% from nurses, 30.5% from parents and 9.5% from children). All participants widely used the category Positive Focus, while nurses and parents favored the category Praise or Support. Children used the category Humor more frequently than other participants. Communication was mainly directed at children, with parents also receiving encouragement.
Conclusion:
Nurses frequently used positive utterances in their communication with children and parents during this challenging healthcare procedure. The PEC coding system proved useful for identifying positive emotions in pediatric communication research; however, it lacks the ability to capture nonverbal communication and responses.
Clinical Implications:
Using positive emotions in medical conversations with children has significant potential to enhance their healthcare experience. However, further research is needed to refine the PEC coding system to better capture nonverbal communication and responses, ensuring a more comprehensive understanding of positive communication in pediatric care.
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