According to the International Association for the Study of Pain, “Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage". Perception of pain in pediatrics is complex, and entails physiological, psychological, behavioral, and developmental factors. However, in spite of its frequency, pain in infants, children, and adolescent is often underestimated and under treated. It has also been shown that infants and children, who experience pain in early life, show long-term changesin termsofpainperception andrelatedbehaviors Different typesofstrategieslikepharmacological and non-pharmacological methods are used forpain management. Non-pharmacological treatment methods are being increasingly discussed with regard to pain prevention and relief either alone or in combination with pharmacological treatment’.
The aim of the study is to assess the effectiveness of facilitated tucking on pain during heel prick procedure among neonates admitted in NICU at selected hospitals of Punjab.
Quantitative approach, Quasi experimental-Post test only control group design without randomization & Non probability convenience sampling technique was used to select 60 neonates (30 in experimental and 30 in control group). Study was conducted in Civil Hospital, Bathinda and Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital, Faridkot. The tool used had two sections, socio-demographic variables and Bernese Pain Scale for Neonates. Bernese Pain Scale for Neonates had been used to assess the pain among neonates. Facilitated tucking hadbeen implemented on neonates in experimentalgroup only.
The study results revealed that there is statistically significant difference (unpaired t test 6.686) in the mean pain score in experimental group (9.2667 ± 3.00498) and control group (14.9000 ± 3.59454) at 0.05 Ievel of significance. The results also depict that there is statistically significant difference in pain in experimental & control group as calculated by chi square test (6.22) at 0. 05 level ofsignificance.
This study concluded that there is statistically significant difference in the post interventional pain between control and experimentalgroup at the 0.05 level of significance.
Effectiveness, facilitated tucking, pain, neonates, NICU
