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Edith Chen, Commentary: The Role of Memory in Managing Children’s Distress During Medical Procedures, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, Volume 31, Issue 8, September 2006, Pages 862–864, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsj093
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One of the most universal experiences in childhood is the need to undergo medical procedures. Whether they be vaccinations, diagnostic, or treatment procedures, many children find invasive medical procedures to be distressing. Thus for pediatric psychologists, there is a pressing need to learn more about how to reduce children’s distress during medical procedures.
Salmon et al. have taken on this topic in investigating the effects of two different psychological interventions on children’s distress and memory during a voiding cysto-urethrogram (VCUG). The investigators tested the efficacy of providing distraction (a cartoon video) on top of standard care (limited procedural information), as well as the efficacy of providing complete information about the procedure plus the cartoon video compared with standard care alone in a sample of 2½- to 7½-year olds.
This study advances the field in that it compels researchers to move beyond using only distraction techniques as interventions for procedure-related distress. Although distraction is a useful technique that has received much support in its efficacy (Cohen, Blount, & Panopoulos, 1997; Cohen, Blount, Cohen, Schaen, & Zaff, 1999; Dahlquist, Pendley, Landthrip, Jones, & Steuber, 2002; Gershon, Zimand, Pickering, Rothbaum, & Hodges, 2004; Manne, Bakeman, Jacobsen, Gorfinkle, & Redd, 1994), the Salmon study addresses the question of whether adding components to a distraction intervention may improve an intervention’s effects.
