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Age-tailored nurse-led multisensory intervention for procedural pain and cooperation in pediatric emergency wound
Qianqian Jin1, Xianqun Wu2, Ruimin Chen2
1Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital & Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, China.
Background:
Procedural pain and fear are common in preschool children during emergency wound care, but nurse-led age-tailored non-pharmacological interventions are underused. Multisensory distraction is promising, yet its age-specific efficacy and nursing feasibility in high-stress emergency settings remain underexplored.
Aim:
To evaluate age-specific effects of a standardized nurse-led multisensory intervention on procedural fear, pain-related distress, and cooperation in 3-6-year-olds undergoing emergency head/facial wound repair.
Methods:
A quasi-experimental study (N = 216) compared standard care (n = 108) with multisensory intervention (n = 108).
Primary Outcomes:
procedural fear (validated 10-dimension scale) and cooperation (4-point scale). Age-stratified analysis (3-4, 4-5, 5-6 years) and parental attitude moderation were examined.
Results:
The intervention significantly reduced fear across all ages (all p < 0.001), with maximal benefit in 5-6-year-olds (mean difference = 7.79, Cohen's d = 2.26), 34% greater than 3-4-year-olds (d = 1.69) and 24% greater than 4-5-year-olds (d = 1.82). Cooperation improved (p < 0.001, especially in 5-6-year-olds), suturing time shortened by 0.9-1.6 min (p < 0.01) and total procedure time by 1.7-2.4 min (p < 0.01), and parental satisfaction increased with child age (F = 15.23, p < 0.001; 9.90 ± 2.14 for 3-3.9 years to 14.25 ± 2.01 for 5-6 years). The intervention effect was robust across varying parental emotional states (intervention × parental attitude interaction: β = -0.002, p = 0.997).
Conclusion:
This low-cost, scalable nurse-led intervention effectively reduces fear and improves cooperation, with maximal age-specific effects at 5-6 years. Future RCTs with long-term follow-up are needed to confirm generalizability.
Implications For Nursing Practice:
The standardized protocol can be integrated into pediatric emergency workflows to enhance developmentally tailored pain management.
Patient/Public Contribution:
No direct contribution; the protocol was expert-developed and pilot-tested for feasibility.