Providing children with information about forthcoming medical procedures: A review and synthesis

Information provision is an important aspect of preparing children for medical procedures. Parents and health professionals are often unsure of what to tell a child about a forthcoming medical procedure, how this information should be conveyed, and when information should be provided. The current article overviews the key theories underpinning information provision, such as self-regulation theory and schema/script theories. A theoretically derived Information Provision Model is presented, which is designed to integrate the various processes involved in information provision. The literature on the content, format, and timing of information provision is reviewed. The role that individual difference factors may play in how children respond to information is described. Recommendations for clinical practice are outlined, together with an indication of the level of empirical support for each recommendation.