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aged 4--8 who were receiving venipuncture or
Infusapost access procedures. One parent
from each child was trained in either hypnosis
(fantasy journey) or distraction (with the use
of a toy) techniques, before crossing over to
receive training in the other intervention. Results
pointed to the significance of hypnotizability
for treatment effect with hypnotizable
children (numbers of which were unknown)
showing significantly lower pain, anxiety, and
distress scores in response to hypnosis, as compared
to low-hypnotizable children or children
in the distraction group. Distraction produced
significant positive effects for observer-related
distress scores in the low-hypnotizable children.
Qualitative data suggest that both
74 Richardson et al. Vol. 31 No. 1 January 2006
parents and children benefited from taking an
active role in symptom management by feeling
less helpless. Patients in this study were undergoing
different interventions than those in the
other studies in this review, and this precludes
the extent to which direct comparison between
studies is possible. Further, the lack of any notreatment
control and inadequate reporting
of study design and results limit the conclusions
that can be reached from this study.
Wall and Womack
38
report the results of
a nonrandomized, controlled clinical trial. Patients