Comparison of the effects of shotblocker, virtual reality glasses and cold application on pain and patient satisfaction in subcutaneous heparin injection application in adult patients

The research was conducted as a self-controlled, semi-experimental study in order to determine the effects of ShotBlocker, VRG and cold application on pain and patient satisfaction. The research was conducted between March 1- July 25, 2023 with 150 volunteer patients who met the inclusion criteria and were hospitalized in Orthopedics and Traumatology Clinic of Orthopedics-Norology Hospital of Bilkent City Hospital. According to the order of hospitalization, patients were assigned into ShotBlocker (n=50), VRG (n=50) and cold application (n=50) groups. The patients formed both the intervention and the control groups. In control application, injection was applied eight hours after surgery using the standard method without any intervention. In intervention application, injection was applied on the second day at the same medication time according to groups, applying a ShotBlocker, watching a nature video with VRG and administering cold application. In data collection, Descriptive Characteristics Form and Visual Analog Scale, which aimed to assess pain and patient satisfaction were used. In data analysis, Ki-Square, Fisher, Dependent samples t-test, one way ANOVA, Welch and Tukey/Tamhane test were used. For implementation of the research, ethics committee permit, institutional permit and written permit from the patients were obtained. The results of the research indicated that in comparison with control application, the pain scores of the patients in VRG and cold application groups were significantly lower both within the group (p<0.05) and between groups (p<0.001) and ShotBlocker was not effective in reducing pain. It was also determined there was no significant difference in terms of satisfaction levels within and between groups (p>0.05). Thus, in order to reduce pain in subcutaneous heparin injection, it is recommended VRG and cold application be used by nurses. Keywords: Pain, low molecular weight heparin, patient satisfaction, virtual reality, ShotBlocker