Cartoon Watching Versus Ball Squeezing During Venous Blood Sampling in Children

NCT07669948 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: MersinU*GUGUCU_007
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 68
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This single-center, parallel-group, randomized experimental study will compare the effects of two non-pharmacological distraction/coping interventions - cartoon watching and ball squeezing - on procedural pain and pain-related fear during venous blood sampling in children aged 6-9 years. The study will be conducted in the Pediatric Blood Collection Unit of Mersin University Hospital. Eligible children will be randomized to either the cartoon-watching group or the ball-squeezing group. Pain will be assessed using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale, and pain-related fear will be assessed using the Children's Fear Scale before, during, and after venous blood sampling. Hypotheses

• H1a: There is a difference between groups in mean WB-FACES scores during the procedure.
• H1b: There is a difference between groups in mean CFS scores during the procedure.

Conditions

Procedural Pain; Pain-related Fear

Keywords

child; pediatric nursing; venous blood sampling; venipuncture; cartoon watching; stress ball; non-pharmacological intervention

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Procedural pain score during venous blood sampling

  Procedural pain score during venous blood sampling, assessed using the Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale at puncture. The scale ranges from 0 to 10, where 0 indicates no pain and 10 indicates the worst/unbearable pain. Higher scores indicate greater pain. Time frame: during the procedure at puncture.

  during the procedure at puncture

• Pain-related fear score during venous blood sampling

  Pain-related fear score during venous blood sampling, assessed using the Children's Fear Scale at puncture. The scale ranges from 0 to 4, from a neutral/no-fear face to a very fearful face. Higher scores indicate greater fear. Time frame: during the procedure at puncture.

  during the procedure at puncture

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Pre-procedure pain score

  two minutes before venous blood sampling

• Pre-procedure pain-related fear score

  two minutes before venous blood sampling

Study Arms (2)

Cartoon-Watching Group

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Watching a cartoon chosen by the child.

Behavioral: Cartoon-Watching Group

Ball-Squeezing Group

EXPERIMENTAL

Ball squeezing with a stress ball. A round, medium-firm, 2.25-inch-diameter stress ball that is safe for children, appropriate for child anatomy, resistant to tearing and damage, and suitable for cleaning and reuse will be used.

Behavioral: Ball-Squeezing Group

Interventions

Cartoon-Watching Group BEHAVIORAL

Behavioral intervention: Cartoon watching. The child will begin watching a cartoon chosen by the child two minutes before venous blood sampling starts. Cartoon watching will continue until venous blood sampling is completed.

Cartoon-Watching Group

Ball-Squeezing Group BEHAVIORAL

Behavioral intervention: Ball squeezing with a stress ball. The child will begin squeezing a stress ball chosen by the child two minutes before venous blood sampling starts. Ball squeezing will continue until venous blood sampling is completed.

Ball-Squeezing Group

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 6 Years - 9 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17)

You may qualify if:

• Child aged 6-9 years
• Child with need or plan for intravenous/venous blood sampling

You may not qualify if:

• Child with a neurodegenerative disease, mental retardation, vision and hearing problems, chronic, life-threatening (sepsis, shock, respiratory / cardiac arrest) or genetic disease
• Child with use of opioids, narcotics, analgesics or sedatives in the last 24 hours before the procedure

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Mersin University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Mersin University Hospital

Mersin, Province, 33343, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pain, Procedural

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Pain; Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Guzide UGUCU, RN, MScN, PhD

  Mersin University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: DOUBLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: The children and their parents will be blinded to the groups. The principal researchers (R1, R2) will be blinded to the research hypotheses. The opaque envelopes are stored in a locked cabinet by the researcher who performed the randomization. Data entries will be performed using the codes A and B. Codes will be shared with the researchers after statistical analyses are conducted and the research report is written.
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Principal Investigator

Model Details: Two-arm, single-center, parallel-group randomized experimental study comparing cartoon watching versus ball squeezing during venous blood sampling, with 1:1 allocation.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: June 21, 2026
• First Posted: June 25, 2026
• Study Start: June 21, 2026
• Primary Completion: July 21, 2026
• Study Completion: July 21, 2026
• Last Updated: July 22, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

TU (1)