The effect of stress ball intervention on pain and anxiety levels during angiography

2. ABSTRACT THE EFFECT OF STRESS BALL INTERVENTION ON PAIN AND ANXIETY LEVELS DURING ANGIOGRAPHY Aim: This study aims to evaluate the effect of stress ball application as a non-pharmacological intervention on the pain and anxiety levels of patients during angiography procedures. Material and Method: This pre-test-post-test control group experimental study was conducted between December 2022 and June 2023. The study population included all adult patients who underwent angiography at the Cardiovascular Surgery Clinic of Bingöl State Hospital, Turkey. The study sample consisted of a total of 120 patients, of which 60 patients were randomly assigned to the experimental group and 60 to the control group. The data were collected using a Patient Information Form, the Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Descriptive statistics, χ2 test, t-test, and correlation analysis were used in the analysis of the data. Results: The mean NRS pretest score of the patients in the experimental group was 0.180±0.53, and their mean post-test score was 2.131±2.416. The mean STAI pretest score of them was 15.885±3.860, and their mean STAI post-test score was 14.918±4.390. In the control group, the mean NRS pretest score was 0.098±0.300 and the mean posttest score was 5.311±1.893. In addition, their mean STAI pre-test score was 11.295±4.144, and the mean STAI post-test score was 12.672±5.772. The differences between the mean NRS post-test scores and the mean STAI pretest and post-test scores of the experimental and control groups were statistically significant (p<0.05). A significant positive correlation was found between the mean NRS and STAI post-test scores of the patients in the experimental group (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results revealed that stress ball application during angiography procedures reduced the pain and anxiety levels of the patients. The use of stress ball application during angiography can be recommended as a complementary intervention to pharmacological treatments. Keywords: Pain, angiography, anxiety, nursing, stress ball.