Slater, R;
Walker, S;
Eccleston, C;
Bellieni, C;
Hirekodi, T;
Carbajal, R;
Smart, L;
... Friedrichsdorf, S; + view all
(2025)
Moments that matter: childhood pain treatment shapes pain for life—we can do better every time in every child.
BMC Medicine
, 23
, Article 64. 10.1186/s12916-025-03869-7.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: Needle procedures, such as vaccinations, blood draws, and intravenous cannulation, are the most frequent source of childhood pain, causing fear and reducing the uptake of medical procedures. Every child has the right to expect pain relief, and we have evidence-based tools to reduce needle procedure-related pain. Therefore, the lack of analgesic provision for needle pain is not justified. We argue that better informed and motivated healthcare professionals and families can advocate for appropriate pain relief in every child, every time. OBSERVATIONS: Engaging communication campaigns are needed to educate our healthcare professionals. Evidence-based modalities such as topical anaesthesia, sucrose or breastfeeding, comfort positioning, and age-appropriate distractions should be available for every child during needle procedures. However, high-quality information is not enough to change behaviour—healthcare professionals need to be motivated, encouraged, and inspired. Parents and carers should be empowered to advocate for their children and be aware that their child has the right to receive pain relief during these procedures. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This is a call to action—we need collaboration between academics, healthcare professionals, industry and charities, to expedite behavioural change and parental advocacy through high-quality communication strategies. Effective pain management in infants and children can play a crucial role in promoting the uptake of vaccinations and medical procedures and can influence future attitudes to pain.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Moments that matter: childhood pain treatment shapes pain for life—we can do better every time in every child |
| Location: | England |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s12916-025-03869-7 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-03869-7 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. |
| Keywords: | Children, Communication, Healthcare professionals, Infant, Information, Motivation, Needle procedures, Pain, Pain treatment, Parents, Humans, Pain Management, Child, Pain, Infant, Child, Preschool |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Population Health Sciences > UCL GOS Institute of Child Health > Developmental Neurosciences Dept |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10206318 |
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