New U of C study aims to help children overcome fear of COVID-19 vaccine needle

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A new University of Calgary study aims to equip parents with tools to help their children overcome fears of needles and pain when receiving their COVID-19 vaccine.

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The study is recruiting families across Canada with children ages four to 11 who have not yet been vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.

“We want our children to be vaccinated, and many are very excited right now that Health Canada has approved COVID-19 vaccines for children under the age of five,” said Dr. Melanie Noel, a member of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute and the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and a professor of clinical psychology at the U of C.

“What we do know is that these vaccine injections can be stressful, they can be painful, they can be scary for some families. What we’re really excited about is that as a research team, we know the simple yet powerful things we can do to make these vaccine injections less painful, less scary, and actually empowering for children and families.”

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The remote study will provide families with resources and strategies that can help facilitate pediatric immunizations. These include using numbing cream, distractions, and changing the way they talk about needles with children.

Families are also asked to fill out questionnaires and participate in a short telephone interview. Attendees will also receive $40 gift cards for participation.

Giving children a positive experience of getting their COVID-19 vaccine can help them with future vaccinations and other medical experiences, Noel said.

“The goal is to really share what we know from decades of research, as well as some really exciting recent research from our research center, and actually use it to enhance those experiences,” Noel said.

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“We know that the course of these experiences can set the course for the future. You can set the course for how children will approach healthcare in the future.”

As of Aug. 1, the most recent date for which the data was updated, 50.3 percent of Alberta children ages five to 11 had their first dose of COVID-19 and 36.4 percent had two doses. While vaccines have been available for this younger cohort for less time than for older Albertans, uptake still lags well behind the 90.7 percent of Albertans aged 12 and older who have had at least one vaccination.

Noel said she hopes this study can help give families the boost they need to get the shot.

“We know that reluctance to get vaccinated, people who want to avoid it or put it off, it could be because they don’t know what to do next, or because the parents don’t like needles,” she said. “Empowering parents and children by giving them things that could help make things go better is our hope that it would boost confidence, increase success, but also increase acceptance.”

Families wishing to enroll in the study are asked to email [email protected] with their name and phone number in the subject line “CN Study.”

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Twitter: @jasonfherring