title: Parental presence and distraction  during painful childhood procedures.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effect of parental presence and the distraction of the attention by a toy in children undergoing a painful procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomised study with two experimental groups and one control group-130 children (64 girls and 66 boys), mean age 8.3 years (range 7-10 years) were randomly assigned to one of the three groups from September 2006 to March 2007: the parent presence group, the toy group, the control group. The verbal rating scale of pain, the assessment of vital signs before and after the procedure and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children who had their parent close to them showed a reduction in breaths (95% confidence interval (CI) for gradient of regression line): -4.20 to -2.80, p<0.001), mean blood pressure (95% CI: -4.88 to -2.99, p<0.001) and pulse (95% CI: -8.76 to -5.68, p<0.001) compared to the children whose parents were absent. They also felt less pain (95% CI: -4.40 to -2.71, p<0.001) and they were less distressed (95% confidence interval for A-State tool (CIA-State): -10.46 to -6.49, p<0.001 and 95% confidence interval for A-Trait tool (CIA-Trait): -5.71 to -2.13, p<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parental presence is considered to be important in decreasing children's pain, stress and their negative behaviour in general during invasive procedures.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, National and Kapodestrian University of Athens.
authors.forename: Vasiliki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Matziou
authors.forename: Anthi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chrysostomou
authors.forename: Efrosyni
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vlahioti
authors.forename: Pantelis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Perdikaris
mesh_terms: D059787:Acute Pain / Q000451:nursing* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D001007:Anxiety / Q000451:nursing / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D001288:Attention; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D010988:Play and Playthings