Children's Hospital uses YouTube to take the ouch out of getting a needle

Kids need to get a flu shot - but it doesn't need to hurt

OTTAWA, Nov. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ - The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario's (CHEO) 'Be Sweet to Babies' research team, led by Dr. Denise Harrison, recently launched a YouTube video demonstrating the best ways to reduce pain for babies' immunizations. This is a must-view video for all parents of babies who are getting ready for a flu shot or their standard vaccinations.

As many parents can attest, immunizations can be painful for infants and distressing for parents. However, there are simple and effective ways to reduce the pain. Research shows breastfeeding babies, giving them sugar water, or holding them upright in a secure front-to-front position effectively reduces pain during immunizations.

Unfortunately, these strategies are rarely used by healthcare providers and parents. There are hundreds of videos currently on YouTube of babies being injected; however, proven pain reduction techniques are not being used.

Concerned by these examples, CHEO's Be Sweet to Babies research team carried out a review of 142 of these videos.

"We noticed almost all of the babies cried before or during their injections, with some crying solidly for over 2 minutes after the injections," said Dr. Harrison. "No videos showed breastfeeding or use of sugar water during the injections and only four babies were held in a front-front position."

As a result of their findings, the research team decided to post their own YouTube video demonstrating effective pain reduction techniques in practice.

The team will monitor the number of hits, comments, Likes and Dislikes this video receives over the next 12 months. It will also monitor all newly posted videos to see whether effective pain reduction strategies are starting to be implemented as a result.

"At CHEO we believe in using evidence-driven health care to ensure the best outcomes for our children, youth and families," said Dr. Harrison. "We hope this project will change standard practices for giving shots, therefore reducing tears and fears during injections now and in the future."

SOURCE Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)