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Brief report: Evaluation of an interactive intervention designed to reduce pediatric distress during radiation therapy procedures.

Klosky JL, Tyc VL, Srivastava DK, Tong X, Kronenberg M, Booker ZJ, de Armendi AJ, Merchant TE

Division of Behavioral Medicine, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, USA. James.Klosky@stjude.org

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.

Published 19 October 2004 in J Pediatr Psychol, 29(8): 621-6.
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