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Preparing children for venepuncture. The effect of an integrated intervention on distress before and during venepuncture
Author(s) -
Kolk A M,
Hoof R van,
Dop M J C Fiedeldij
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
child: care, health and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2214
pISSN - 0305-1862
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2214.2000.00145.x
Subject(s) - venipuncture , distress , intervention (counseling) , medicine , psychology , clinical psychology , anesthesia , psychiatry
Summary Venepuncture for routine blood sampling is a very distressing experience for a considerable number of children. Not only do they express high levels of distress during venepuncture but also in anticipation of the procedure. Therefore, prevention or reduction of distress should focus on both phases of the procedure. To this end, three preparation elements were combined: local anaesthesia of the skin, provision of sensory and procedural information, and involvement of the parent. In order to test the effect of this integrated procedure on the distress reactions of young children before as well as during venepuncture, 31 children were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: preparation or no preparation. Independent raters, who were blind to group assignments, scored segments of the videotaped behaviour of the children, according to the Groninger Distress Scale. Prepared children displayed significantly less distress before and during venepuncture than not‐prepared children, regardless of their gender, ethnical origin, age, injection history, and the tension of their parent.