Why you should read this article:

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To recognise that medical procedure-induced anxiety in children has significant short- and long-term negative effects, with implications for treatment, recovery, patient satisfaction and cost

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To be aware that individualised and age-appropriate non-pharmacological interventions can be effective in managing children’s medical procedure-induced anxiety

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To identify the significant role of children’s nurses and other healthcare professionals in managing children’s medical procedure-induced anxiety

Medical procedure-induced anxiety in children can have short- and long-term negative effects. Research shows that children’s anxiety can be affected by non-pharmacological interventions and adults’ behaviours in a complex manner. This article presents a scoping review of the literature on non-pharmacological interventions to manage medical procedure-induced anxiety in children. Based on this review, the authors propose a framework comprising six strategies for effective non-pharmacological management of medical procedure-induced anxiety in children. A real-life, and anonymised, example is used to illustrate this framework in practice.