Behavioral Interventions for Infant Immunizations

• Published in: Children's health care Vol. 34; no. 2; pp. 95 - 111
• Main Authors: Cramer-Berness, Laura J., Friedman, Alice G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc 01-06-2005; Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Babies; Behavior; Behaviour; Immunization; Infants; Intervention; Parents & parenting
• ISSN: 0273-9615; 1532-6888
• DOI: 10.1207/s15326888chc3402_2

Minimal research has examined behavioral interventions to reduce infants' pain. This study randomly assigned 123 infants receiving immunizations and their parents to a condition: distraction (parents used stimuli to divert infants' attention), supportive care (parents were encouraged to utilize any coping-promoting strategies), or typical care. Infants in the supportive care condition recovered from the immunization significantly faster than did infants in the typical care condition, and parents in the distraction condition used significantly more behavioral interventions throughout the immunization than the other conditions. Given the apparent ineffectiveness of distracter stimuli despite parents' efforts, distracter options are discussed.