[Nurse's role in the processes of hospital humanization and procedural pain relief in children]

Abstract

In childhood, hospital admission is frequently seen as something unexplanable and close to a "punishment". Involving parents/caretakers in the process of care is critical for the child to cope with the distress arising from hospital contacts and medical procedures. However, some grey zone remains for common procedures as venipuncture in hospital and ambulatory settings. We have conducted a literature review, searching for articles focused on procedural distress reduction/control in children. Several studies show that communication play a critical role and that children as young as 5 are able to "read" the way nurses and doctors interact with them and their approach is very important in reducing procedural distress. However, children attitude toward communication of health information may not be so linear, because they tend to continuously shift from a position of "passive bystander" to a "active participant" one, and viceversa. Nurse's role is crucial for the reduction of procedural distress because of her/his frequent contact with the young patients, but often she/he does not have the skills to help children to cope with procedural distress. Several approaches to this issue are discussed.