New Approaches on the Horizon: Comments on Jaaniste, Hayes, and von Baeyer’s “Providing Children With Information About Forthcoming Medical Procedures: A Review and Synthesis”

Jaaniste, Hayes, and von Baeyer contribute to the growing body of work on preparing children for medical events by describing an Information Provision Model to aid clinicians in developing effective preparatory tools. This commentary considers the contributions of this model, and extends several of the principal ideas in new directions. In doing so, particular attention is paid to investigating the meaning of the phrase “timely and appropriate” when used to describe optimal information provision. In addition, discussion of how the model relates to emerging understandings of coping processes on both neurological and behavioral levels is offered. Throughout, emphasis is placed on using information from a diversity of research programs to help inform the development of better strategies for helping children achieve the best possible outcomes in medical settings.