WIP 20 - Describing patient and parent perceptions of the Comfort Box: a bedside toolbox to deliver integrative therapies to hospitalized adolescent patients and their families

Poster Number: WIP 20
Publication Number: WIP 20.919

Background: Pediatric patients and caregivers often experience many symptoms during hospitalization–such as anxiety, nausea, and pain–that may cause discomfort and distress. Integrative medicine is beneficial in managing these symptoms, yet there are few accessible self-care and integrative therapies in the pediatric inpatient setting. Our institution created and implemented a novel bedside toolbox for adolescent patients and their families that contains integrative tools and techniques: the “Comfort Box”. Each Box contains stress balls, aromatherapy, a mandala coloring book, a journal, a finger labyrinth, a fidget spinner, and information on breathing techniques, acupressure, tapping, and mindfulness.

Objective: To describe perceptions of, use of, and recommendations for changes to the contents and delivery of the Comfort Box.

Design/Methods: This study was approved by the team’s Institutional Review Board. All hospitalized patients 12 years and older referred by the medical team for a Comfort Box were eligible to participate. Any care team member could message the creative art therapist, who would deliver the Box to the patient and/or caregiver, provide training around the contents, and collect informed consent and assent, as appropriate. Study team members conducted semi-structured phone interviews with patients and/or caregivers after receipt of the Box.

To date, 36 patients received a Comfort Box, 28 consented to be interviewed, and 14 interviews were performed thus far. On average, interviews lasted 14 minutes.

Interview data will be analyzed using directed content analysis methods and the qualitative analysis software Dedoose. A codebook was developed using the a priori structure established in the interview guide. One study team member is coding transcripts. A second study team member will double code the first 10% to evaluate inter-rater reliability. Data collection and analyses are currently ongoing. Data will be collected and analyzed until saturation is reached.