Child Life Corner
Kris Frey, CCLS
Section Editor
Did You Know This? Nonpharmacologic Techniques for Distress Reduction During Emergency Medical Care: A review
Eldridge C. Kennedy R. Clinical pediatric emergency medicine. 2010;11:244-250.
ABSTRACT
“When pain is effectively managed, distress in children undergoing Emergency Department procedures is often due to anxiety and fear. This distress can be caused by many factors including being in an unfamiliar environment, exposed to strangers, not knowing what to expect or anticipation based upon previous painful experiences. This article reviews some of the many non-pharmacological developmentally-based strategies that can be implemented in the emergency department to reduce a child’s distress. These techniques can help improve treatment and procedural success, and ultimately create a more satisfying experience for the patient, family and medical team.”
Breakout Session at SPS Conference 2012: Relax and Let Yourself Be Distracted
By Kris Frey, CCLS and Jeff Dettore, CCLS
This presentation focused on how to utilize distraction and diversion during procedures to compliment the sedation medication and/or reduce or eliminate the need for sedation.
Components highlighted were:
- Child Life Assessment: gathering information such as age, medical history, fears/anxieties of patient and family, etc.
- Procedural Preparation: Who, when and what to include in the preparation.
- Coping Plan: identifying the role of parent, child and staff, comfort measures and the type of distraction or diversion to use and how to use them.
