The Effect of Non-pharmacological Methods on Pain, Fear

Launched by FENERBAHCE UNIVERSITY · Jun 13, 2025

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is studying ways to help children feel less pain and fear when having blood drawn. It will test two different distraction methods—guided imagery, where children listen to a calming story and imagine a peaceful walk in the forest, and virtual reality (VR), where children wear VR glasses to watch an immersive video of the same forest walk. The goal is to see if these methods can make the blood draw experience less scary and painful compared to the usual procedure without any distractions.

Children between 8 and 14 years old who speak Turkish, have no recent pain-relief medicines, and don’t have any hearing, vision, or other health issues that would stop them from using headphones or VR glasses may take part. If chosen, children and their parents will be fully informed about the study and give permission before starting. During the blood draw, their pain and fear levels will be measured before, during, and after the procedure, using simple rating scales and monitoring heart rate and oxygen levels. This study takes place at Koç Hospital’s Pediatric Clinic and aims to find gentle, non-medicine ways to make blood tests easier for kids.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • The child must be between 8 and 14 years old.
• • Both the child and the parent must volunteer to participate in the study.
• • The child and the parent must speak Turkish at a native level.
• • The child must not have taken any medication with analgesic, antipyretic, or anti-inflammatory effects within the last 6 hours
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • The child has visual, hearing, or speech impairments.
• • The child is illiterate.
• • The child has a clinical condition that prevents the use of VR glasses or headphones.
• • The child has an allergy to strawberries (mentioned in the guided imagery script) or a fear of forests or squirrels.
• • The child has a disease that may cause chronic pain.
• • The child has any auditory, mental, or neurological disability that could affect participation in the study