Effects of two different ball types on pain and anxiety during venous blood draw in children: A randomized controlled study

Background: Children presenting to hospitals for healthcare are often exposed to venous blood draw procedures which cause significant pain and stress for children. Objectives: Tactile stimulation and active distraction methods can be used during procedural pain management in children. This study was conducted to determine and compare the effects of tactile stimulation and active distraction methods on levels of pain and anxiety during venous blood draw procedure in children. Methods: A randomized controlled study design was adopted with a parallel trial design to compare four different intervention groups with a control group. The children's anxiety levels were evaluated using the Children's Fear Scale, and their perceived pain levels were evaluated using the Wong Baker Pain Scale. Results: The results of the child and observer evaluations revealed the perceived level of pain during the procedure to be lower in the intervention groups than in the control group, and lower in the spiky ball groups than in the round ball groups. The level of anxiety during the procedure was found to be significantly lower than that recorded prior to the procedure, based on the self-evaluation of the child and the evaluation of the observer in the intervention groups. A positive correlation was found between pain and anxiety levels during the procedure. Practice implications: The results of this study support the effectiveness of the spiky ball method to reduce perceived pain and anxiety in children during venous blood draw procedures in the pediatric blood draw units. (c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.