Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42473616›Full record

ReviewJournal of pain research2026

The Effectiveness of Child Life Services in Reducing Pediatric Procedural Pain: A Systematic Review and Three-Level Meta-Analysis.

Liqin Zhu, Zichuan Wang, Zihan Zhou, Ziqian Ma, Qiong Dang, Cangcang Fu, Wenjie Duan

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of pain research, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Liqin ZhuDepartment of Nursing, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
Zichuan WangDepartment of Social Work, School of Social and Public Administration of East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Zihan ZhouDepartment of Social Work, School of Social and Public Administration of East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Ziqian MaDepartment of Social Work, School of Social and Public Administration of East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Qiong DangDepartment of Social Work, School of Social and Public Administration of East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.
Cangcang FuDepartment of Nursing, Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China.
Wenjie DuanDepartment of Social Work, School of Social and Public Administration of East China University of Science and Technology, Shanghai, People's Republic of China.ORCID 0000-0002-1251-3685

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose: To examine the effectiveness of Child Life Services (CLS) in reducing procedural pain among pediatric patients. Patients and Methods: A registered systematic review and three-level meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-experimental studies was conducted following PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Six databases were searched from inception to 2 June 2025. Eligible studies included RCTs comparing CLS with standard care in children aged 0-18 years undergoing medical procedures. Risk of bias was assessed using RoB 2 for RCTs and ROBINS-I for quasi-experimental studies. Pooled standardized mean differences (Hedges' g) were estimated using three-level random-effects model. Four categorical moderators were examined: measurement timing, age group, procedure type, and assessor type. Results: Twelve studies (N = 1,366) were included. CLS significantly reduced procedural pain compared with standard care (g = -0.72, 95% CI [-1.19, -0.24], p =0.007). Heterogeneity was primarily attributable to between-study differences (Level 3 I Conclusion: CLS demonstrates a significant effect in alleviating procedural pain in children. Self-reported pain outcomes show better effects than observer-rated outcomes. While the benefits appear particularly pronounced among younger children and one-time injections, the evidence for older children and surgical contexts warrants further investigation.

Indexed as

Child Life Servicesnon-pharmacological interventionpediatricprocedural painsystematic reviewthree-level meta-analysis

Identifiers

PMID42473616
PMCPMC13380908

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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.