P3.235: Pilot Medical Student Greeters for Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis Patient-Centering

Background: This pilot study aimed to assess the potential impact of a medical student volunteer program that provided companionship and distraction through 360° videos during annual blood draws for pediatric cystic fibrosis patients. The focus was on children aged 3-7 diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Given the frequent nature of blood draws, these children often experience anxiety and distress during hospital visits. Therefore, we hypothesized that distraction and emotional support methods could help alleviate these negative emotions. The study sought to determine whether volunteer involvement could reduce anxiety in these patients by offering emotional support and distraction throughout the procedure.

Methods: This study was in accordance with IRB #16495 at OU Health Sciences Center. The medical student volunteer provided support and distraction by meeting and engaging with the patients prior to phlebotomy, guiding each through the 360° animal-focused videos, and collecting data from patients, parents, and medical staff. Parents were included throughout the procedure to maximize patient comfort and familiarity. The surveys used to collect data from pediatric patients included 5 cartoon faces, ranging from happy to worried, to aid patients in communicating emotions.

Results: A total of 12 patients and their parents participated. When evaluating feelings of anxiousness pre- and post-phlebotomy, the pediatric patients used a scale from 1-5 with 1 being “Not nervous at all” to “Very, very nervous” at 5. The 12 patients reported an average decrease in anxiety of 1.25/5 from pre- to post-procedure, demonstrating a 25% reduction in feelings of nervousness. The results are found in Figure 1. Patient parents utilized a scale of 1-4 to measure helpfulness of the program with 1 being “Not at all” and 4 being “Completely.” Parents described the program’s potential to decrease their child’s anxiety with the procedure as 3.42/4 (85.5%), increase their child’s willingness for future visits as 3.42/4 (85.5%), and increase their child’s engagement with their medical care as 3.75/4 (93.75%). These results are found in Figure 2.

Conclusion: The results of this pilot study indicate that a medical student volunteer program utilizing companionship and distraction can enhance the experience of blood draws and decrease the associated anxiety for children with cystic fibrosis. A Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed a significant (p < 0.0313) decrease in nervousness levels between pre- and post-procedure. This indicates that the intervention had a measurable impact on reducing anxiety in the patients. The initial results and positive parental feedback illustrate this program could be implemented on a larger scale to enhance the experiences of children with cystic fibrosis, whose disease requires long-term medical following. Further studies increasing the scale of this study should be done to ensure effectiveness across broader patient populations.