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.