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Use of a projective technique to assess young children's appraisal and coping responses to a venipuncture
S Caty1, M L Ellerton, J A Ritchie
1School of Nursing, Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. scaty@laurentian.nickel.ca
Insights
Young hospitalized children can appraise venipuncture and identify coping strategies. Providing information was the most helpful intervention for managing this common pediatric procedure.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Psychology
- Child Health Research
- Medical Procedure Coping
Background:
- Hospitalization presents unique stressors for children.
- Venipuncture is a common and often distressing procedure for pediatric patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how young hospitalized children perceive and cope with venipuncture.
- To identify children's appraisal, emotional, and coping responses during venipuncture.
Main Methods:
- Exploratory, descriptive study with 45 hospitalized children aged 4-9 years.
- Utilized projective techniques and interviews to gather data.
- Content analysis of responses using measures of appraisal, coping strategies, and interventions.
Main Results:
- Children appraised venipuncture phases as threats, benefits, or both.
- Key behavioral coping strategies included self-protection and resuming activities.
- Cognitive coping involved reality-oriented thinking, emotion regulation, and diversion.
- Providing information was reported as the most helpful intervention.
Conclusions:
- Young children can effectively appraise venipuncture through projective methods.
- Children spontaneously identify various cognitive and behavioral coping mechanisms.
- Findings highlight the importance of informational interventions for pediatric venipuncture.
Purpose:
To examine the appraisal, emotional and coping responses of young hospitalized children to three phases of a venipuncture procedure.
Design:
Exploratory, descriptive.
Setting:
Pediatric unit of a community hospital.
Participants:
Four- to 9-year-old hospitalized children (N = 45).
Main Outcome Measures:
Data were obtained by means of a projective technique and interview format. Content analysis of the children's responses was guided by the use of four published measures (appraisal, behavioral coping strategies, cognitive coping strategies, and helpful interventions).
Results:
The children appraised each phase of the venipuncture as a threat, a benefit, or a threat/benefit. The most frequently identified behavioral coping strategies were self-protective behaviors and returning to normal activities. The most frequently identified cognitive coping behaviors were reality-oriented working through, emotion-regulating cognitions, and diversionary thinking. The children reported the most helpful intervention as providing information about the event.
Conclusion:
The children were able, through a projective technique, to appraise a venipuncture and spontaneously identify many cognitive and behavioral coping strategies and interventions to help them manage a venipuncture.
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