Intervention Effect of Child Life Specialists on Paediatric Patients: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Child Care Health DevSep 1, 2026
Clinical ResearchPediatricsOpen access

Fangqin Li, Jianli Jin, Liwei Feng et al.

✦ AI-curated · Sources linked

In 30 seconds

This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the impact of child life specialists (CLSs) on pediatric patients, analyzing 12 randomized controlled trials with 1096 participants. The findings suggest that CLS involvement significantly reduces children's pain (SMD = -0.28), distress (SMD = -0.26), and anxiety (SMD = -0.37) during medical procedures, although the effect on fear was not significant.

Key findings

  • CLS involvement significantly reduced children's pain (SMD = -0.28, p = 0.009).
  • Children experienced less distress with CLS support (SMD = -0.26, p = 0.018).
  • Anxiety levels in children decreased with CLS intervention (SMD = -0.37, p = 0.007).
  • The effect of CLSs on reducing fear was not statistically significant (SMD = -0.11, p = 0.290).

Why it matters

The findings highlight the potential role of child life specialists in improving pediatric care by alleviating pain, distress, and anxiety, which are critical for enhancing the overall experience of children undergoing medical procedures.

Source

PubMed · PMID 42619575Free full text on PubMed Central

Published in Child Care Health Dev. This summary was written by xxcode from the publication's abstract and metadata. It is not peer reviewed and is not a substitute for the original article. For clinical decisions, review the original publication.

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