Brief report: Evaluation of an interactive intervention designed to reduce pediatric distress during radiation therapy procedures.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the efficacy of an interactive intervention in reducing distress related to radiation therapy (RT) among pediatric cancer participants as measured by occurrence of sedation, observed behavioral distress (OBD), and heart rate (HR).


METHODS
Seventy-nine children receiving RT simulation were assigned randomly to a STARBRIGHT Hospital Pals group (i.e., interactive intervention group; IG) or modified control group (MCG). The interactive intervention included filmed modeling, exposure to an interactive Barney character, and passive auditory distraction.


RESULTS
Children in the IG experienced significantly lower HR when compared with MCG participants. No differences were found in terms of sedation or OBD.


CONCLUSIONS
The interactive intervention was effective at reducing RT-related distress (as measured by HR) and would be a useful tool in pediatric radiation oncology settings.
Klosky
James L
JL
Division of Behavioral Medicine, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, USA. James.Klosky@stjude.org
Tyc
Vida L
VL
Srivastava
Deo Kumar
DK
Tong
Xin
X
Kronenberg
Mindy
M
Booker
Zorana J
ZJ
de Armendi
Alberto J
AJ
Merchant
Thomas E
TE
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires