Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comparative Study
. 2008 Sep;33(8):842-54.
doi: 10.1093/jpepsy/jsn031. Epub 2008 Apr 2.

A systematic review of randomized controlled trials examining psychological interventions for needle-related procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents: an abbreviated cochrane review

Lindsay S Uman  1 , Christine T Chambers, Patrick J McGrath, Stephen Kisely
Affiliations
Comparative Study

A systematic review of randomized controlled trials examining psychological interventions for needle-related procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents: an abbreviated cochrane review

Lindsay S Uman et al. J Pediatr Psychol. 2008 Sep.

Abstract

Objective: To report the results of a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of psychological interventions for children and adolescents undergoing needle-related procedures.

Methods: A variety of cognitive-behavioral psychological interventions for managing procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents between 2 and 19 years of age were examined. Outcome measures included pain and distress as assessed by self-report, observer report, behavioral/observational measures, and physiological correlates.

Results: Twenty-eight trials met the criteria for inclusion in the review and provided the data necessary for pooling the results. Together, the trials included 1,039 participants in treatment conditions and 951 in control conditions. The largest effect sizes for treatment improvement over control conditions were found for distraction, combined cognitive-behavioral interventions, and hypnosis, with promising but limited evidence for several other psychological interventions.

Conclusions: Recommendations for conducting future RCTs are provided, and particular attention to the quality of trial design and reporting is highlighted.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Number of papers yielded by search strategy in systematic review.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Barlow DH, Durand VM.
    1. Blount RL, Bachanas PJ, Powers SW, Cotter MW, Franklin A, Chaplin W, et al. Training children to cope and parents to coach them during routine immunizations: Effects on child, parent, and staff behaviors. Behavior Therapy. 1992;23:689–705. [*]
    1. Blount RL, Piira T, Cohen LL. Management of pediatric pain and distress due to medical procedures. In: Roberts MC, editor. Handbook of pediatric psychology. 3rd. New York: Guilford Press; 2003. pp. 216–233.
    1. Broome ME, Bates TA, Lillis PP, McGahee TW. Children's medical fears, coping behaviors, and pain perceptions during a lumbar puncture. Oncology Nursing Forum. 1990;17:361–367. - PubMed
    1. Cassidy K-L, Reid GJ, McGrath PJ, Finley GA, Smith DJ, Morley C, et al. Watch needle, watch TV: Audiovisual distraction in preschool immunization. American Academy of Pain Medicine. 2002;3:108–118. [*] - PubMed

Publication types