Using non-pharmacological interventions to manage medical procedure-induced anxiety in children: a framework to guide best practice

Abstract

Medical procedure-induced anxiety in children can have short- and long-term negative effects. Research shows that children's anxiety can be affected by non-pharmacological interventions and adults' behaviours in a complex manner. This article presents a scoping review of the literature on non-pharmacological interventions to manage medical procedure-induced anxiety in children. Based on this review, the authors propose a framework comprising six strategies for effective non-pharmacological management of medical procedure-induced anxiety in children. A real-life, and anonymised, example is used to illustrate this framework in practice.