Improving Parental Soothing by Video: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Our goal is to determine if a video instructing parents on the principles of soothing their infant following immunization will influence soothing behaviours exhibited by parents, and pain reactivity and regulation in infants. We plan to present parents of young infants (6 months) and older infants (18 months) with either a Treatment Video instructing them on the ABCD's (Assess Anxiety, Belly Breathe, Calm Close Cuddle, Distraction; Copyright R. Pillai Riddell) of pain management or a Placebo Video with neutral information. There is very minimal risk because our suggestions are based on what parents deemed 'sensitive' (in our ongoing longitudinal study) were doing naturally i.e., without any intervention in their day-to-day lives. Additionally, in a separate study, that already received ethics approval, parents viewed these videos without any negative side effects. Participants will be adult parents from one of two clinics in the Greater Toronto Area who bring their infant in for a routine immunization (12 or 18 months). In our cohort study (where we simply videotape dyads in the clinic). Parents will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire (Parent Information Sheet) entailing basic demographic information and preimmunization ratings of their worry about their infant's pain from the immunization. The parents will also be asked to complete the 18-item Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI-18) and the Negative Affect subscale (IBQ-R Very short form), in addition to demographic information. The parents will subsquently be asked to view a brief video (Treatment or Placebo Video) discussing the ABCD's of pain management described above. During the infant's routine immunization procedure the parents and infant will be videotaped for approximately 10 minutes, and the parent will be asked a few brief questions post immunization including ratings of their infant's pain from the immunization procedure and the helpfulness of the video.