Minimizing pain during childhood vaccination injections: improving adherence to vaccination schedules

Abstract

Pain experienced in childhood can lead to long-term and psychologically detrimental effects. Unfortunately, the most common pain experienced in childhood is caused by vaccinations and may lead to non-adherence to the recommended vaccination schedule. As a result, it is the health care provider's responsibility to take measures to reduce vaccination pain; however, there are a plethora of pain relieving interventions during immunizations and it is unclear which interventions are most cost efficient, timely, and effective. Studies have been conducted to investigate the efficacy of different pain management interventions during vaccinations. This review evaluates various pain relieving interventions and provide health care providers age appropriate guidance on pain relieving interventions during vaccinations. Employment of these strategies may successfully reduce vaccination-associated pain in infants, children, and adolescents, and may improve compliance with the vaccination schedule.

The Effect of a Combination of Vibration and External Cold on Pain Caused during Vaccine Injection in Infants: A Randomized Clinical Trial

“…In Benjamin's study, variables such as the vaccinator's variability, the type of vaccine, and the number of injections were not taken into account. Eden et al believe that one of the factors influencing vaccine pain is its pH, such that the lower the pH of the vaccine is, the more pain a person experiences [ 7 ].…”

“…Injection pain relief during infancy alleviates the negative emotional side effects that injection may bring about for the parents and the child [ 6 ]. It can also enhance parental compliance with the immunization program [ 7 ].…”