Distraction for burn pain
Research type
Research Study
Full title
An investigation into the effectiveness of immersion in computer games as a distraction from pain during wound dressing changes
IRAS ID
153116
Contact name
Stephen Fairclough
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 1 months, 4 days
Research summary
The purpose of the study is to investigate the usefulness of computer games as a distraction during painful medical procedures for paediatric patients. Specifically the study is concerned with how the level of challenge posed by the game affects distraction from pain.
Participants will play computer games on a tablet (iPad) during normal wound change procedure during outpatient clinics at the burns unit at Alder hey children's hospital. The level of difficulty of the game will be manipulated to provide an easy or hard level of challenge.
Participants will complete three questionnaires measuring pain, anxiety and immersion during both easy and hard game conditions. These measures will be recorded during normal clinical practice without the game condition, which is used for baseline data.
It is expected that the participants will be more distracted in the hard game condition compared to the easy condition leading to decreased scores of both pain and anxiety during the procedure. We expect an increase of scores on pain and anxiety scales when the game is not present.
REC name
East Midlands - Leicester Central Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/EM/1185
Date of REC Opinion
10 Nov 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion