Kylie Juenger is a final-year PharmD candidate at The University of Iowa College of Pharmacy and a member of the 2023–2024 APhA–ASP Communications Standing Committee.
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacists’ roles in giving immunizations drastically expanded in order to keep up with the demands of the changing health care system. This resulted in the expansion of the role of pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy interns in providing immunizations. As part of many pharmacy school curricula, student pharmacists are trained on the proper injection technique to give patients safe and effective immunizations. Many students grow to become very confident immunizing adult patients at the end of their pharmacy school journey. However, less training is given to students on vaccinating pediatric patients.
It's necessary for pharmacists and students to adapt their approach when giving kids immunizations as well as tailor the workflow to the pediatric population. This will allow health care professionals to cater to a child’s specific needs. Vaccines can evoke a multitude of stresses, anxieties, and fears in little ones. It’s important to consider effective ways of giving children immunizations that reduce overall psychosocial stress. This will not only build rapport between children and health care professionals, but also enhance the amount of emotional safety pediatric patients may feel.
Injection strategies
Children traditionally require more care and strategy when giving injections. As student pharmacists, we can promote psychosocial safety for pediatric patients who may have a fear of needles in many ways. This can be done through a menu of choices, distraction techniques, or by using child-friendly terminology.
Diverse alternatives—such as providing a buzzy, numbing spray, stickers, or teddy bear—may help the child feel more in control of their experience. Helping children practice deep breathing exercises can also ease the stress of immunizations.1
Along with a toolbox of options and deep breathing exercises, we can use distraction. This technique can be practiced by a child, their caregiver, or medical personnel through visual or audible tools.2
It’s also important to use child-friendly vocabulary that appropriately describes the steps of the injection. Rather than encouraging the child that the needle won’t hurt, it’s more helpful to use other descriptive words, such as “poke,” to avoid creating distrust.
These interventions can enhance psychological safety and help to reduce pain, anxiety, and hesitancy associated with pediatric vaccines.
More training for increased confidence
Overall, more training may be necessary for both students and pharmacists to feel confident immunizing pediatric patients. Allowing the child to have a choice throughout the immunization process, catering the distraction technique to the patient, and fostering a calm environment may help pediatric patients feel a greater sense of psychosocial safety when receiving injections. References
- Chambers CT, Taddio A, Uman LS, et al. Psychological interventions for reducing pain and distress during routine childhood immunizations: A systematic review. Clin Ther. 2009;31(suppl. 2):S77–S103.
- Breitbach AA, Jenn CA, Milavetz G. Distraction techniques for immunizations in children and adolescents. JAPhA. 2017;57(3):414–415.