The Impact of a Computer Network on Pediatric Pain and Anxiety

This was the third randomized controlled clinical trial (RCCT) of Starbright World (SBW)--a private, interactive computer network for hospitalized children. The present randomized controlled clinical trial (RCCT) consisted of a series of 39 replicated single system designs (SSDs) that compared children's self-reports of pain intensity, pain aversiveness and anxiety in the SBW condition with those in a stan- dard clinical practice condition. Findings from the SSDs were aggregated using meta-analysis. Although children experienced slightly less pain intensity, pain aversiveness, and anxiety in the SBW condition, these results did not achieve statistical significance. The relationship of these findings to the two prior studies of the effectiveness of SBW is discussed.