To Look or Not to Look at the Needle During Vaccination

Overview

It is common for people to advise individuals undergoing vaccination to look away from the needle to make them hurt less and be less scary. However, this advice is not backed up by research evidence. the purpose of this study is to learn about how looking away vs. looking at the needle during vaccination makes people feel. People will be randomized to 1 of 2 groups: look at the needle, look away. Then they will undergo vaccination and report on pain and fear experienced.

It is common for people to advise individuals undergoing vaccination to look away from the needle to make them hurt less and be less scary. However, this advice is not backed up by experimental research evidence. It is possible that looking away acts as a distraction and takes attention away from the needle, thus reducing pain. However, it is also possible that looking at the needle is better because it prevents people's imaginations from making them think it is worse than it actually is. To our knowledge, this is the first first randomized study to examine the effect of looking away vs. looking at the needle on pain and fear experienced during vaccinations. Adult university students undergoing routine flu vaccination will be included.

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Central Contacts