Effect of tactile stimulus application method on pain level during blood collection in children

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the Palm Stimulator, which creates a tactile stimulus from the palm of the hand during intravenous blood sampling in children aged 8-12 years, in different hands to reduce the level of pain during the procedure. Material and method: The research was conducted as a randomized controlled, experimental study. The population of the study consisted of children aged 8-12 years who applied to the pediatric blood collection unit at Inonu University Turgut Ozal Medical Center. The sample of the study consisted of a total of 168 children assigned to the holding the Palm Stimulator in the palm of the blood collection arm (56), holding the Palm Stimulator in the palm contralateral of the blood collection arm (56) and control (56) groups. Research data were collected between May 2024-July 2024. "The Child Information Form, Children's Fear Scale, Facial Pain Scale-Revised and Visual Analog Scale" were used for the data collection. Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, Levene test and multiple comparison test were used to analyze the data. Results: The mean pain scores of the children in the experimental groups where the Palm Stimulator was applied, assessed by the parents, children and the observer were found to be statistically significantly lower than the mean pain scores of the control group (p<0.05). It was found that there was no statistically significant difference between the group holding the Palm Stimulator in the palm of the arm from which blood was taken and the group holding the Palm Stimulator in the palm of the arm contralateral to the arm from which blood was taken ( p>0.05). Conclusion: It was found that the use of Palm Stimulator during intravenous blood collection is an effective method in reducing the pain during the procedure in children, and there was no significant difference between the applying of Palm Stimulator in the palm of the same arm or in the palm of the contralateral arm during the blood collection procedure. It is recommended that nurses use Palm Stimulator as an effective non-pharmacological method to reduce the pain associated with intravenous blood collection. Key Words: Child, Non-Pharmacological Methods, Pain, Palm Stimulator, Tactile Stimulus