Comfort for Kids

Founded 2004
Convenor: Angela McKenzie

The Comfort for Kids Story

Comfort for Kids is about teaching adults to help children develop comfort and coping strategies and to help others help themselves.

Over 10 years ago I learned how important it is to be an active participant in one's own healing, to have a sense of mastery and control rather than be a passive victim. I learned new skills to help myself cope with the stress and symptoms of serious illness and wondered why these weren't part of medical training.

When I returned to work, I found myself being asked more and more to help children who are seriously ill, or who have chronic conditions, cope with procedures such as MRI, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, immunizations, blood tests and so on. I had not realised how many children suffer pain or are frightened because of the diagnostic tests we order and treatments we prescribe. As medicine has become more sophisticated and technical, we've forgotten to teach children how to cope with the machines and needles and other bodily invasions. Freud was right when he said 50 years ago that any interference with a child's body, whether major or minor, creates fears and fantasies.

Of course, some mangage fine but others, because of their personality, or the nature of their illness, or an unpleasant memory become overwhelmed and develop ways of coping that make treatment difficult, such as fighting the staff, or, as they get older, avoiding hospital all together. Surveys shows that one in four adults avoid hospitals or the dentist and one in 10 have a needle phobia.

The good news is that for the last 20 years there has been an explosion in research in this area and evidence is being published in the medical and psychological journals about how we can improve the situation for children. My job at the hospital is to apply that research into clinical practice. I have the privilege of teaching children and their families helpful coping strategies, including preparing a child for a procedure, how to hold them so they are comfortable, relaxation, breathing, distraction and imagination techniques.

I have mainly worked with children who have already become terrified of procedures, and my vision for the hsopital is that all children are taught effective coping strategies before their first procedure. With this goal in mind, a senior music therapist and I ran the first procedural pain management workshop held at The Royal Children's Hospital. It was for under 5 year old boys with haemophilia and their parents, as these children will end up having needles in their veins three times a week throughout their childhood. It was a great success, with the families saying this was the first time they had come to the hospital to have fun!

One parent felt so strongly that this service should be available to all families with a child requiring repeated procedures that she started an Auxiliary, which we called "Comfort for Kids". Projects for which funding has been raised so far are the trial of a play therapist in Emergency to help children with procedures, and a computer biofeedback program to teach self regulation to some of those young people with chronic illness who don't like coming to hospital. Our vision is that all kids feel comfortable in hospital and this will help them learn to be competent, functioning adults.

Annual Report

This year, thanks to the generous donation from the Myer Community Fund, Comfort for Kids Auxiliary was able to buy two special pumps to deliver pain relieving medicine to children following surgery. An ongoing project is a short educational film about the importance of trust in the hospital context. Thanks to everyone who contributed to making all this possible.

Last Updated 19-Sep-2008. Authorised by: Sue Manson. Enquiries: Sue Manson.