#ItDoesntHaveToHurt

Work with the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research

For parents, the experience of taking their child to the pediatrician or hospital for necessary vaccinations or tests involving a series of shots is a time of anxiety and stress. In fact, ten percent of children and adults have a significant needle phobia. Often, this is because the pain with getting shots with needles is managed poorly, if it is at all.

Burness worked with 2012 Mayday Pain and Society Fellow Dr. Christine Chambers to create a short video—with a child as the narrator—to help parents and health professionals build awareness of the problem, and learn strategies for managing kids’ pain during vaccination. In addition to filming, editing and producing the video, Burness helped Dr. Chambers promote it widely—now at 149,000 views on YouTube and growing.  The video led to more grant funding and the launch of a campaign linking research-based information to Canada’s leading online parenting magazine, YummyMummyClub.ca, which reaches 5 million parents each day.