Abstract
Peripheral venipuncture (PV) in connection with infusions and the taking of specimen is a common assignment for nurses working with children. The situation involving PV is often experienced by children or parents with anxiety and fear of the pain. Some nurses also report discomfort in this situation. The reasons why many PVs are carried out with more than one pin-prick have not been thoroughly investigated and in this study we assessed nurses' attitudes to this problem with a questionnaire (n = 226). Results showed that nurses estimated about 27% of the PVs to be unsuccessful (more than one pinprick). Performance of successful PVs was associated with, in rank order, the nurse's skills, the physical characteristics of the patient (size, visibility and brittleness of the duct) and the psychological characteristics of the patient (e.g., anxiety in face of PV). It was suggested that future studies should focus on the specific implication of the psychological content and significance of »nurse's skills«.
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