Funding outcome

Intravenous (IV) insertion is a very common medical procedure, and is described by children as the most painful part of their hospital experience. Inserting an IV often leads to unnecessary pain and anxiety for a child, and can cause dissatisfaction with care for both the family and the healthcare providers. Although anesthetic (numbing) creams or sprays can be used, their seem to only reduce pain, but not the stress and anxiety associated with the procedure. Distraction therapy is an emerging area, since turning a child's attention away from the painful thing (ie the IV) can be used in combination with numbing creams to give chidren the best and least stressful experience. Our team's previous research has told us that digital technology, such as robots and virtual reality looks promising for treating children's pain and anxiety, but we need more research to be sure of its effects, especially in the chaotic emergency setting. We have already studied iPads and robots, and learned that iPads do not work to reduce pain and anxiety, likely because they are not novel' and immersive' enough for today's technology-savvy children. While the robot worked for anxiety, it was expensive to use because you need a dedicated person to run the software to operate it. Therefore, we are examining the use of virtual reality (VR) technology as a simpler form of distraction to better treat the pain and anxiety/distress of children receiving an IV, as compared to the current standard of care. In this study, we will use immersive virtual reality goggles during IV insertion for children. We want to determine if distraction with this new and innovative technology will help children better manage the pain and distress that can come with medical procedures. Eighty children will be video recorded during their IV insertion, and the videos will be analyzed for pain scores and eight signs of behavioral discomfort using a tool known as the Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress. We expect that adding VR technology as distraction therapy will be a better means to minimize the pain and distress associated with IV placements as compared to numbing creams, alone. We hope integrate VR technology into our Child Life Specialists' toolkit for pain management in the emergency department, and in other local pain management protocols, if it is shown to be effective. We will also share this knowledge with other children's hospitals across Canada through collaborative networks, and importantly, plan a large, multi-centre study comparing different types of distraction therapies, based on what we learn from this study.