Children's self‐reports of fear and pain levels during needle procedures

Aim The objective was to determine the levels of and potential relationships between, procedure‐related fear and pain in children. Design Clinical based cross‐sectional. Methods Ninety children aged between 7–18 years were included consecutively and self‐reported levels of pain and fear on a 0–100 mm visual analogue scales (VAS) when undergoing routine needle insertion into a subcutaneously implanted intravenous port following topical anaesthesia. Results The needle‐related fear level was reported to be as high as the needle‐related pain level (mean VAS: 14 mm and 12 mm, respectively, N = 90). With fear as the dependent variable, age and pain were significantly associated and explained 16% of the variance. With pain as the dependent variable, fear was significantly associated and explained 11% of the variance. A post hoc analysis indicated that younger children reported their fear levels to be higher than their pain levels.