[Minimizing pain and fear of venipunctures in 6-year-old children].

The aim is to describe the interventions used by nurses to reduce pain and fear in children during venipuncture. The aim of the various methods is not to eliminate all the pain, but rather to encourage the child to adopt a behavior which will not hamper even long-term treatment. The material was collected from Oulu University Hospital by means of open questionnaires to a total of 59 nurses and laboratory assistants regarding their work. A content analysis was performed, replies significant from the point of view of the present topic being tabulated and the results depicted in the form of frequency and/or percentage distributions. The nurses regarded pain and fear in children as real, employing local anaesthetics to reduce the fear of pain. The child was prepared for the procedure by means of guidance and therapeutic play. The nurses acted mainly intuitively during the procedure, combining task orientation and traditional nursing.