Attitudes of preschool children preparing themselves to undergo venipunctures

Abstract

 Purpose: This study focuses on preschool children (4-5 years old) who have been asked to undergo venipuncture, and aims to describe the attitudes when children have to prepare themselves to accept venipuncture through the interaction with nurses and others. Methods: We conducted a participant observation in 30 cases of blood sampling of preschool children, interviewed their parents and nurses, and analyzed the results using the grounded theory method. Results: The attitude of children being asked to prepare themselves to accept blood collection was comprised of seven phenomena: “waiting for the time to come”, “accepting the situation as having to get it done”, “negotiating the method they think they can do”, “facing the start of the procedures”. “following the progress in their own way”, “resisting their unrelenting fear” and “concentrating on getting it done”. This attitude diverged from “waiting for the time to come” and reached “concentrating on getting it done” by way of “facing the start of the venipuncture”. Conclusion: This attitude can be described as the child facing the venipuncture by controlling unstable feelings by themselves with an underlying determination to “get it done”, and it can be interpreted as the preparedness of the children to undergo the venipuncture.