Techniques to comfort children during stressful procedures

doi:10.1016/S0965-2302(99)80055-1

Accident and Emergency Nursing

Volume 7, Issue 4, October 1999, Pages 226-236

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0965-2302(99)80055-1 Get rights and content

Medical procedures can be unpleasant experiences for children, their parents, and health care providers. We present this model of working with children having invasive procedures with the aim of helping to increase the comfort of infants and children and also parents and medical staff. The model has five parts: (1) Preparing the child and parent for the procedure and for their role during the procedure; (2) inviting the parent/caregiver to be present; (3) utilizing the treatment room for stressful procedures; (4) positioning the child in a comforting manner; and (5) maintaining a calm, positive atmosphere.

References (40)

CraigKD et al.
Developmental changes in infant pain expression during immunization injections
Social Science and Medicine
(1984)
OwensME
Pain in infancy: conceptual and methodological issues
Pain
(1984)
PetersonL et al.
The use of coping techniques to minimize anxiety in hospitalized children
Behavior Therapy
(1981)
RossDM et al.
Childhood pain: the school-aged child's viewpoint
Pain
(1984)
TaddioA et al.
Use of lidocaine-prilocaine cream for vaccination pain in infants
Journal of Pediatrics
(1994)
Agency for Health Care Policy and Research
Acute pain management in infants, children and adolescents: operative and medical procedures
(1992)
AlsH et al.
Continuity of neurobehavioral functioning in preterm and full-term newborns
AndersonC et al.
Procedural pain
BauchnerH et al.
Parental presence during procedure in an emergency room: results from 50 observations
Pediatrics
(1991)
BauchnerH et al.
Parents and procedures: A randomized controlled trial
Pediatrics
(1996)

BrazeltonTB

Touchpoints, your child's emotional and behavioral development

(1992)

CamposRG

Rocking and pacifiers: two comforting interventions for heelstick pain

Research in Nursing and Health

(1994)

DahlquistIM et al.

Preparing children for medical examinations: the importance of previous medical experience

Health Psychology

(1986)

DaviesR et al.

Facts — why we must change our practice

Ehrenstrom-ReizGM et al.

EMLA-Aeutetic mixture of local anesthetics for topical anaesthesia

Acta Anaesthesiol Scand

(1982)

FrankelV

FrederickV

Pediatric IV therapy: Soothing the patient

RN

(1991)

FrenchG et al.

Blowing away shot pain: A technique for pain management during immunization

Pediatrics

(1994)

FullerB et al.

The effect of pain on infant behaviors

Clinical Nursing Research

(1995)

HahnY et al.

Pain in children with spinal cord tumors

Child's Brain

(1984)

Cited by (35)

Ten questions: Developmentally appropriate support for pediatric testing in young childrenHow you can help
2012, Heart Rhythm
Assessment of parental satisfaction in children undergoing voiding cystourethrography without sedation
2011, Journal of Urology
Approximately 50,000 children undergo voiding cystourethrography annually. There is a recent trend toward using sedation or delaying voiding cystourethrography due to the anticipated distress to the patient. We hypothesized that with adequate preparation and proper techniques to minimize anxiety, voiding cystourethrography can be performed without sedation. We assessed parental satisfaction associated with patient and parent experience of voiding cystourethrography without sedation.
We used a 33-question survey to evaluate parental satisfaction with patient and parent experience of voiding cystourethrography without sedation. Children were divided into 3 groups according to toilet training status. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata®.
A total of 200 surveys were completed. Of the children 54% were not toilet trained. Of the parents 90% reported adequate preparation. More than half of parents classified the experience of voiding cystourethrography as equivalent to or better than a physical examination, immunization, ultrasound and prior catheterization. Most parents were satisfied with the ability of the child to tolerate the procedure and considered the experience better than expected. Children in the process of toilet training had the most difficulty with the procedure, correlating with lower levels of parental satisfaction.
Voiding cystourethrography performed with adequate preparation and support can be tolerated without sedation. Children in the process of toilet training and females tolerate the procedure least.
Approach to the Pediatric Patient
2009, Ultrasound Clinics
Citation Excerpt :
Unless there is a special request for a tour, children should be shielded from the work areas of the department where they might misinterpret what they observe or simply feel ignored. There are many sources of information that offer suggestions on working with children.1,5–13 The following sections can serve as an outline for age-specific modifications to the ultrasound examination.
Selected topics in perioperative multimodal pediatric pain management
2007, Seminars in Anesthesia, Perioperative Medicine and Pain
Citation Excerpt :
Many procedures that traditionally require a child to be supine can be accomplished with the child in a sitting or modified sitting position. Mary Barkey and Barbara Stephens21 proposed a model of positioning children during painful procedures. “The achievement of sitting up in infancy seems to be accompanied by a sense of control.
The term multimodal pain management often refers to the use of multiple pharmacological agents simultaneously in the postoperative period in order to improve efficacy and minimize adverse effects. In this article, this therapeutic approach is discussed with a pediatric focus and expanded to include cognitive, behavioral, and complementary therapies. The overall goal being safe, effective management that can be easily delivered in any busy pediatric setting.
A Quantitative Analysis of Smartphone-Based Endoscopy and Video Tower Endoscopy
2023, Annals of Otology, Rhinology and Laryngology
Factors Associated With Low Procedural Pain Scores Among 1- to 5-Year-Old Patients Undergoing Facial Laceration Repair
2023, Pediatric Emergency Care

View all citing articles on Scopus

^*: This paper was previously published in Advances in Mind Body Medicine (1999) 15(1): 49–60

View full text

Techniques to comfort children during stressful procedures*

Social Science and Medicine

Pain

Behavior Therapy

Pain

Journal of Pediatrics

Acute pain management in infants, children and adolescents: operative and medical procedures

Continuity of neurobehavioral functioning in preterm and full-term newborns

Procedural pain

Parental presence during procedure in an emergency room: results from 50 observations

Pediatrics

Parents and procedures: A randomized controlled trial

Pediatrics

Touchpoints, your child's emotional and behavioral development

Rocking and pacifiers: two comforting interventions for heelstick pain

Research in Nursing and Health

Preparing children for medical examinations: the importance of previous medical experience

Health Psychology

Facts — why we must change our practice

EMLA-Aeutetic mixture of local anesthetics for topical anaesthesia

Acta Anaesthesiol Scand

Pediatric IV therapy: Soothing the patient

RN

Blowing away shot pain: A technique for pain management during immunization

Pediatrics

The effect of pain on infant behaviors

Clinical Nursing Research

Pain in children with spinal cord tumors

Child's Brain