The effects of live music on the distress of pediatric patients receiving intravenous starts, venipunctures, injections, and heel sticks

Currently there is a growing interest in non-invasive methods of pain management with pediatric patients. Needle insertions are a major source of distress for children. The term ''needle insertions'' includes intravenous starts, venipunctures, injections, and infant heel sticks. Distraction has proven effective in helping children to cope and adding music as a non-invasive method of pain management is a unique way to achieve this technique of distraction. To assess the benefits of live music on the behavioral distress levels of pediatric, patients, an experimental group of 20 patients age 7 and under received live music as they experienced a variety of needle insertions in a treatment room and emergency room setting at a local hospital. The music intervention consisted of age-appropriate children's songs led by the researcher with guitar accompaniment. This group was compared to a control group of 20 pediatric patients who did not receive music, Groups were matched on the basis of age, site of procedure (floor or ER), and type of needle insertion. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a statistically significant difference between groups for the pre-needle and post-needle stages (F = 9.6, p < 05) with the music group exhibiting less behavioral distress. A Mann-Whitney U test revealed statistically significant differences between age groups with less behavioral distress exhibited in the music group for children I year old and younger (U = 14, crit. value = 15).