Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, cilt.91, 2025 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: Newborns are subjected to painful attempts in the early days of their lives due to medical requirements. Breastfeeding and innovative devices such as ShotBlocker® are used to alleviate pain. Objectives: This study was planned to evaluate the effect of non-pharmacological methods on newborns’ pain and comfort level during the heel lance procedure in newborns. Design: The study was a single-center, randomized controlled trial. Setting: This study was conducted in the first-level neonatal intensive care unit between August 2021 and September 2022. Methods: Ninety-six newborns were included in this study based on inclusion criteria. The newborns were randomly assigned to four groups: (a) breastfeeding, (b) ShotBlocker®, (c) breastfeeding + ShotBlocker®, and (d) standard care. Pain and comfort levels of newborns were evaluated according to the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale and the Newborn Comfort Behavior Scale before, during, and after the heel lance procedure. Crying time, heart rate, and oxygen saturation were recorded. Results: The difference between the groups in terms of average crying time (p = 0.001) and comfort levels after the procedure (p = 0.001) was statistically significant. There was no difference in pain during and after the procedure. As a result of multiple analyses of variance in repeated measurements, a difference was found in comfort scores in terms of group, time, and group-time interaction (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The breastfeeding + ShotBlocker® group had the lowest mean crying time. There was no difference in procedure-related pain scores between the groups. The most comfortable groups after heel lance were the breastfeeding and breastfeeding + ShotBlocker® groups. Implication for clinical practice: Breastfeeding, currently the gold non-pharmacological standard, increased comfort levels during the heel lance procedure. The breastfeeding + ShotBlocker® had a significant reduction in crying time and a significantly greater post-procedural comfort level (Clinical Trials number: NCT05246787).