Assessment of analgesic effect of holdingthe child by a family member versus holding the child by a family member along with an animation distraction intervention on the level of pain perception during venipuncture in children up to 7 years of age

Pain perception in children is complex, and is often difficult to assess. A review of pain assessment scales that can be used in children across all ages, and a discussion of the importance of pain control and distraction techniques during painful procedures are present. Age specific non pharmacological interventions used to manage pain in children are most effective when adapted to the developmental level of the child. Distraction techniques are often provided by nurses, parents or child life specialists and help in pain alleviation during procedures. The use of non-pharmacological procedures to cope with pain behaviour is less costly and most of these procedures can be administered by a nurse. The task of a nurse is to choose an appropriate method & ensure a comfortable environment for the intervention

The study is intended to assess the analgesic effect of holding the child by family member vs holding the child by a family member along with an animation distraction intervention on the level of pain perception during Venipuncture in children up to 7 years of age.

Purposive sampling technique was used to select 70 children admitted in pediatric ward of Guru Gobind Singh Medical Hospital, Faridkot, 35 children in each group viz. Group 1(child holded by family member during Venipuncture) and Group 2 (child holded by family member along with an animation distraction during Venipuncture). An animation of rhymes was used as a distraction in group 2 and video clippings were made for each subject in both groups. Standardized FLACC pain scale was used to assess the level of pain during Venipuncture by seeing the video clips of procedure in both groups.

The findings revealed that in Group 1 (i.e. child holded by family member during Venipuncture) majority 31(88.57%) got severe pain and none remained relaxed during Venipuncture whereas in Group 2 (i.e. child holded by family member along with an animation distraction during Venipuncture) majority 10(28.58%) got moderate pain, 09(25.71%) remained relaxed and only 07(20%) got severe pain. It indicates that analgesic effect of holding the child by a family member along with an animation distraction is more than holding the child by a family member alone in managing pain perception during Venipuncture in children up to 7 years of age.

The study concluded that when during painful procedures like Venipuncture if children are given any non-pharmacological intervention like animated distraction along with their family member it helps in managing the pain. In other words, it distracts/diverts the child's attention from pain and results in better cooperation of child during procedure.