Facilitated tucking position effect on pain and comfort during heel stick in newborns

Purpose

To investigate the effect of facilitated tucking on pain intensity and comfort during heel stick blood sampling among full-term newborns in Jordan.

Design

A quasi-experimental, with a pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design was conducted.

Methods

A convenience sample of 64 full-term newborns was assigned into two groups: an intervention (N = 32) and a control group (N = 32). Pain and comfort scores were measured three times using the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale and Comfort Behavior Scale before the heel stick procedure and the tenth minute after the stick. A split-plot ANOVA was used to investigate the mean differences in pain and comfort scores.

Results

ANOVA results have shown no significant differences between both groups at the beginning of the study. In contrast, the intervention group reported a lower pain score than the control group in the second measurement (2.44 ± 0.50 vs 4.09 ± 0.78 p < 0.001) and third measurement (1.81 ± 0.74 vs 3.63 ± 0.83 p < 0.001). Additionally, the intervention group has also reported better comfort scores in the second measurement (15.41 ± 0.87 vs 19.22 ± 1.60 p < 0.001) and third measurement (13.97 ± 1.86 vs. 18.41 ± 1.12 p < 0.001) and the impact of facilitated tucking technique has continued its effect for 15 min after heel stick with the overall large effect size for clinical significance.

Conclusion

Facilitated tucking is a simple, safe, and inexpensive technique that was effective in reducing newborns’ pain and improving their comfort during heel-stick procedures. Evidence-based practices should be an essential element of neonatal pain management.