SynthesisJournal of pediatric psychology2008
A systematic review of randomized controlled trials examining psychological interventions for needle-related procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents: an abbreviated cochrane review.
Synthesis in Journal of pediatric psychology, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 5 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 64 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Pain Perception of Children and Youth Receiving Non-sedated Botulinum Toxin-A Injections Using the Buzzy®
Comparison of Guided Imagery and Virtual Reality (VR) Technology on Patient and Parent Coping and Resource Utilization During Unsedated Procedures
Effect of Immersive Virtual Reality on Pain and Anxiety in Pediatric Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Access: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Comparing The Effectiveness of Tracing Image and Coloring for Kids-Book With Two Passive Distractions on Pain and Fear in Children During Peripheral Intravenous Cannulation: A Randomized Controlled Trial
The Effect of Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention Package on Peripheral Venous Cannulation Pain and Anxiety in Children: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 270 citations in OpenAlex.
- A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Psychological Interventions for Reducing Distress During Vaccine Injections.The Clinical journal of pain · 2026Pooled it
- Effect of Distraction Intervention for Needle-Related Pain and Distress in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Psychological interventions for needle-related procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- An umbrella review of the literature on the effectiveness of psychological interventions for pain reduction.BMC psychology · 2017Pooled it
- Pain and distress outcomes in infants and children: a systematic review.Brazilian journal of medical and biological research = Revista brasileira de pesquisas medicas e biologica · 2017Pooled it
- Systematic review and meta-analysis of distraction and hypnosis for needle-related pain and distress in children and adolescents.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2014Pooled it
- [Non-pharmaceutical measures, topical analgesics and oral administration of glucose in pain management: Austrian interdisciplinary recommendations on pediatric perioperative pain management].Schmerz (Berlin, Germany) · 2014Guideline
- Trial
- Pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions in management of peripheral venipuncture-related pain: a randomized clinical trial.BMC pediatrics · 2023Trial
- Effect of an Immersive Virtual Reality Intervention on Pain and Anxiety Associated With Peripheral Intravenous Catheter Placement in the Pediatric Setting: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Trial
- A randomized controlled trial: child life services in pediatric imaging.Pediatric radiology · 2014Trial
- The effects of mindful attention and state mindfulness on acute experimental pain among adolescents.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2014Trial
- The effects of coping style on virtual reality enhanced videogame distraction in children undergoing cold pressor pain.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2014Trial
- The effects of interactive and passive distraction on cold pressor pain in preschool-aged children.Journal of pediatric psychology · 2011Trial
- Analysing a family-centred preoperative intervention programme: a dismantling approach.British journal of anaesthesia · 2011Trial
- The effects of mindfulness-based attention on cold pressor pain in children.Pain research & managementTrial
- Virtual Reality for Managing Procedural Pain in Children: A Concept Analysis with Walker and Avant Approach.Journal of pain research · 2026Review
- How professionals in pediatrics change the words they use to mitigate pain: A lexical description after a short hypnosis-based communication training.British journal of pain · 2025Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo report the results of a systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of psychological interventions for children and adolescents undergoing needle-related procedures.
methodsA variety of cognitive-behavioral psychological interventions for managing procedural pain and distress in children and adolescents between 2 and 19 years of age were examined. Outcome measures included pain and distress as assessed by self-report, observer report, behavioral/observational measures, and physiological correlates.
resultsTwenty-eight trials met the criteria for inclusion in the review and provided the data necessary for pooling the results. Together, the trials included 1,039 participants in treatment conditions and 951 in control conditions. The largest effect sizes for treatment improvement over control conditions were found for distraction, combined cognitive-behavioral interventions, and hypnosis, with promising but limited evidence for several other psychological interventions.
conclusionsRecommendations for conducting future RCTs are provided, and particular attention to the quality of trial design and reporting is highlighted.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.