A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of art-based psychological distraction on school-aged children’s pain and anxiety during painful procedures

• Published in: Pielęgniarstwo XXI Wieku 2023-12, Vol.22 (4), p.264-272
• Main Authors: Suleman, Sherzad, Halek, Margareta, Enskär, Karin, Atrushi, Akram, Nilsson, Stefan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anxiety; distraction; fear; Nursing; Omvårdnad; pain; painful procedures; Phlebotomy
• ISSN: 2450-646X; 1730-1912; 2450-646X
• DOI: 10.2478/pielxxiw-2023-0031

This study aimed to investigate whether arts-based interventions are effective in reducing the pain and anxiety of children during venipuncture. Our search involved 9 databases, including Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, ScienceDirect, Scopus, MEDLINE, EMBASE via PsycINFO, LILACS, ERIC, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Dissertation s International until 31 December 2021. Clinical trials in humans published in English randomized or non-randomized were the main criteria for eligibility. We included five RCTs in our review and all were included in our meta-analysis. Quantitative analysis of different clinical parameters was described. In the art-based intervention compared with the control group in terms of reduction in pain mean deviation was -0.68; 95% confidence interval: -1.14, -0.22), whereas the art-based intervention compared with the control group in terms of anxiety reduction mean deviation: -0.78; 95% confidence interval: -1.47, -0.09) during venipuncture procedures. In this study, art-based interventions were found to be effective for children undergoing venipuncture. However, most studies have a high risk of bias and are of low quality, so the results cannot be generalized.