The effect of finger puppet on pain and emotional manifestation for venous blood collection in the pediatric emergency department: A randomized controlled trial

Aim: To determine the effect of distraction with a finger puppet for venous blood collection in the pediatric emergency department on children's pain and emotional manifestation.Methods: Randomized controlled trial with 80 children (aged 3-6 years) who applied to the pediatric emergency department between October 2021 and March 2022. The attention of child was distracted from the procedure by playing with finger puppets before and during the venous blood collection in the finger puppet group. The children in the control group underwent routine blood collection. The procedural pain was measured with the Face, Legs, Activity, Cry, Consolability Scale (FLACC) and the emotional response was measured with the Children's Emotional Manifestation Scale (CEMS).Results: The mean FLACC pain scores of the children in the finger puppet group were statistically significantly lower than the children in the control group (p < 0.001). It was also found that the finger puppet group's mean scores of CEMS before and during the procedure were statistically lower than those of the control group (p < 0.001).Conclusions: Finger puppets can be used to reduce pain and positively change children's emotional responses during painful procedures such as blood collection.