The effect of three different methods applied during setting up peripheral vascular access on pain and comfort level in premature

Aim: The study was conducted to evaluate the effect of kangaroo care, fetal position and swaddling on pain and comfort level in premature infants during peripheral vascular access. Material and Method: The study was carried out in a randomized controlled manner in 148 premature babies aged 32-37 weeks who had peripheral vascular access in the neonatal intensive care units of a state hospital between December 2019 and June 2020. While kangaroo care, fetal position, and swaddling methods were applied to the babies in the experimental group during and after peripheral vascular access, routine peripheral vascular access was performed in the babies in the control group without any intervention. The scores of each group before, during and after the procedure were recorded by the researcher using "Newborn Baby Pain Scale (NBPS)" and "Premature Infant Comfort Scale (PICS)". Data were evaluated using percentile, chi-square and ANOVA tests. Results: It was found that the NBPS pain and PCAS comfort avareges score of kangaroo care, fetal position and swaddling applied during and after peripheral vascular access in premature babies were determined to be statistically significantly lower than the control group (p <0.05). As a result of further analysis, it was determined that fetal position was the most effective intervention in decreasing NBPS pain scale scores and increasing the PICS comfort level among the experimental groups during and after peripheral vascular access, followed by kangaroo care and finally the swaddling attempt. Conclusions: It was determined that kangaroo care, fetal position and swaddling applied during and after peripheral vascular access in premature babies reduce the pain of the baby and increase the comfort level. These methods are recommended to be used in routine nursing care in neonatal intensive care units. Keywords: Pain, Fetal Position, Kangaroo Care, Comfort, Swaddling, Peripheral vascular access.