To look or not to look during vaccination: A pilot randomized trial

Mithal, Priyanjali; Simmons, P. J.; Cornelissen, Tessa; Wong, Hannah J.; Riddell, Rebecca Pillai; McMurtry, C. Meghan; Burry, Lisa; Stephens, Derek; Taddio, Anna

doi:10.1080/24740527.2017.1412254

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Second, administration of the vaccine by injection could be made more tolerable, producing positive narratives in the general public of the process. For example, looking away from the injection may reduce fear (Mithal et al, 2018 ). Pain mitigation strategies (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Injection fears and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

et al. 2021

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Background When vaccination depends on injection, it is plausible that the blood-injection-injury cluster of fears may contribute to hesitancy. Our primary aim was to estimate in the UK adult population the proportion of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy explained by blood-injection-injury fears. Methods In total, 15 014 UK adults, quota sampled to match the population for age, gender, ethnicity, income and region, took part (19 January–5 February 2021) in a non-probability online survey. The Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Scale assessed intent to be vaccinated. Two scales (Specific Phobia Scale-blood-injection-injury phobia and Medical Fear Survey–injections and blood subscale) assessed blood-injection-injury fears. Four items from these scales were used to create a factor score specifically for injection fears. Results In total, 3927 (26.2%) screened positive for blood-injection-injury phobia. Individuals screening positive (22.0%) were more likely to report COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy compared to individuals screening negative (11.5%), odds ratio = 2.18, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.97–2.40, p < 0.001. The population attributable fraction (PAF) indicated that if blood-injection-injury phobia were absent then this may prevent 11.5% of all instances of vaccine hesitancy, AF = 0.11; 95% CI 0.09–0.14, p < 0.001. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was associated with higher scores on the Specific Phobia Scale, r = 0.22, p < 0.001, Medical Fear Survey, r = 0.23, p = <0.001 and injection fears, r = 0.25, p < 0.001. Injection fears were higher in youth and in Black and Asian ethnic groups, and explained a small degree of why vaccine hesitancy is higher in these groups. Conclusions Across the adult population, blood-injection-injury fears may explain approximately 10% of cases of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. Addressing such fears will likely improve the effectiveness of vaccination programmes.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Injection fears and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

et al. 2021

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“…Here, seeing a needle prick clearly increased unpleasantness ratings in comparison to seeing the cotton swab touch. In a new pilot randomized control trial, Mithal et al (2018) tested participants, who were instructed to either look at the needle or to look away from the needle during vaccination. While the self-reported sensation of fear was higher in the group who was told to look at the needle, no difference was found in the self-reported sensation of pain in the two groups.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanical Pain Thresholds and the Rubber Hand Illusion

et al. 2018

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We manipulated the sense of body ownership with the rubber hand illusion (RHI) to determine if perception of a potentially painful threat to the rubber hand can modify the mechanical pain threshold (MPT). Simultaneous tactile stimulation of the subject’s concealed hand and the appropriately positioned visible rubber hand generated the illusion of false body ownership. The MPT was recorded on the left hand of the subjects before and after induction of the RHI, as well as during the phase in which the model hand was pricked with a sharp knife or touched by the blunt knife handle. The results indicate that the RHI could be successfully generated with our set-up. Mechanical stimuli were perceived as more painful in the condition where the rubber hand was simultaneously pricked with a knife. Our findings suggest that the illusion of body ownership gates nociceptive processing of potentially painful stimuli.

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