Family participatory clown therapy in venipuncture in hospitalized children: A non-randomized controlled trial.

Abstract

ObjectiveTo explore the effectiveness of family participatory clown therapy in venipuncture in hospitalized children.MethodsWe recruited 104 children aged 3 to 6 years for a non-randomized controlled trial from March to December 2022. All participants required peripheral venepuncture infusions for treatment. The children were assigned to either the control group (n = 52) or the experimental group (n = 52).Standard care was utilized in the control group. In the experimental group, two clown nurses and a parent provided family participatory clown therapy for 35-45 minutes per child before, during, and after venipuncture. We assessed children's pain (FLACC and W-B FPS), anxiety (VAS-A), medical fear (CFS), crying incidence, compliance, parental anxiety (S-AI), and parental satisfaction.ResultsAt venipuncture, the FLACC score was lower in the experimental group (4.46±2.053) compared to the control group (5.96±2.441), the W-B FPS score was also lower in the experimental group (4.96±2.392) than in the control group (6.35±2.266), with a statistically significant difference (PConclusionFamily participatory clown therapy can reduce pain, anxiety, medical fear, and crying during venipuncture in children. It can also improve venipuncture compliance, reduce parental anxiety, and increase parental satisfaction.