Center for Baby Science, Doshisha University, 4-1-1 Kizugawadai, Kizugawa City, Kyoto, 619-0225, Japan.
Department of Pediatrics, NHO Minami Kyoto Hospital, Joyo, Kyoto, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2024 Apr 4;14(1):7968. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-58677-5.
Fear of doctors is a common source of distress among infants; however, the underlying sources of this distress are unknown. To investigate the doctor-infant relationship, the behaviors of 61 healthy infants (176-617 days old) were observed in a simulated examination room. Their behaviors and electrocardiograms were recorded. Two groups of infants were analyzed: those who cried and those who did not. When an experimenter dressed in the doctor's attire entered the room, all 9 infants who were crying (14.8% of all infants) stopped crying, all infants gazed at the experimenter, and their mean heart rate (HR) decreased. After the auscultation started, 29.5% of all infants cried, and the HRs of infants who cried were higher than those of infants who did not cry. During the auscultation, 80.0% of infants who cried averted from the experimenter, while 34.4% of infants who did not cry. Within 5 s of gazing at the stethoscope, the number of infants who cried increased from 3 to 12, and their mean HR also increased. Our findings suggest that the fear of doctors is not due to the appearance of doctors but rather to specific actions performed by doctors, such as auscultation. Infants may regard a doctor's appearance as a source of interest. Furthermore, a stethoscope is a possible trigger for infants' crying. These behavioral observations suggest the potential for patient-centered care for infants.
婴儿对医生的恐惧是一种常见的困扰源；然而，这种困扰的潜在来源尚不清楚。为了研究医患关系，我们在模拟检查室中观察了 61 名健康婴儿（176-617 天龄）的行为。记录了他们的行为和心电图。分析了两组婴儿：哭泣的婴儿和不哭泣的婴儿。当一名穿着医生服装的实验者进入房间时，所有 9 名哭泣的婴儿（所有婴儿的 14.8%）停止了哭泣，所有婴儿都注视着实验者，他们的平均心率（HR）下降。听诊开始后，所有婴儿中有 29.5%哭泣，哭泣婴儿的 HR 高于不哭泣婴儿的 HR。在听诊过程中，80.0%哭泣的婴儿避开了实验者，而 34.4%不哭泣的婴儿。在注视听诊器的 5 秒内，哭泣的婴儿数量从 3 增加到 12，他们的平均 HR 也增加了。我们的发现表明，婴儿对医生的恐惧不是因为医生的出现，而是因为医生的特定行为，如听诊。婴儿可能将医生的外表视为感兴趣的来源。此外，听诊器可能是婴儿哭泣的一个潜在触发因素。这些行为观察表明，婴儿有接受以患者为中心的护理的潜力。
