Using non-pharmacological interventions to manage medical procedure-induced anxiety in children: a framework to guide best practice
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Using non-pharmacological interventions to manage medical procedure-induced anxiety in children: a framework to guide best practice

Garry Ming Heng Goh Hospital play specialist, paediatric unit, Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand Southern, Dunedin, New Zealand
Liza Edmonds Clinical senior lecturer, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, neonatal paediatrician and clinical leader of children’s health and neonatal intensive care unit, Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand Southern, Dunedin, New Zealand

Why you should read this article:
  • To recognise that medical procedure-induced anxiety in children has significant short- and long-term negative effects, with implications for treatment, recovery, patient satisfaction and cost

  • To be aware that individualised and age-appropriate non-pharmacological interventions can be effective in managing children’s medical procedure-induced anxiety

  • To identify the significant role of children’s nurses and other healthcare professionals in managing children’s medical procedure-induced anxiety

Medical procedure-induced anxiety in children can have short- and long-term negative effects. Research shows that children’s anxiety can be affected by non-pharmacological interventions and adults’ behaviours in a complex manner. This article presents a scoping review of the literature on non-pharmacological interventions to manage medical procedure-induced anxiety in children. Based on this review, the authors propose a framework comprising six strategies for effective non-pharmacological management of medical procedure-induced anxiety in children. A real-life, and anonymised, example is used to illustrate this framework in practice.

Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2024.e1499

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

TOPICCframework@outlook.com

Conflict of interest

None declared

Goh GMH, Edmonds L (2024) Using non-pharmacological interventions to manage medical procedure-induced anxiety in children: a framework to guide best practice. Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2024.e1499

Published online: 17 June 2024

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