The effect of kangaroo mother care on the pain in term newborn

The objective of this study was to identify the effect of kangaroo mother care on the level of pain and physical parameters of term newborns during vaccination procedures. The study is of parallel group, randomized and controlled design. The method of random sampling was used to a total of 128 term newborns. The size of the sample was determined using power analysis. Data for the research were collected at Kütahya Merkez Gaybiefendi and Fatih FHC over the period May - September 2016. The data collection instruments were a Sociodemographic Questionnaire, Newborn Identification Form, the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale, a pulse oximeter and a chronometer. Data analysis was carried out with the SPSS 22 and SAS 9.3 package programs. Descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, the Shapiro-Wilk test, the dependent samples t test, independent samples t test, Tukey's test, and repeated measures variance analysis were used in the analysis. Statistical significance was accepted as p<0.05 in the statistical tests. There were no differences between the intervention and control groups in terms of sociodemographic variables (p>0.05). Statistically significant differences were detected between the newborns' NIPS scores and oxygen saturation levels before, during and following the vaccination procedure (p<0.05). In-group comparisons displayed significant differences in NIPS scores between each of the 3 measurements (p<0.05). NIPS scores for the newborns in the intervention group were significantly lower than the scores of the control group. While the in-group comparisons for the intervention group showed no statistically significant differences between the measurements before and during the vaccination procedure in terms of oxygen saturation (p>0.05), the other comparisons did indicate significant differences (p<0.05). Oxygen saturation levels showed a significant increase after the vaccination as compared to before or during the procedure. In-group comparisons of the control group displayed significant differences between each of the 3 measurements (p<0.05). These differences pointed to steadily decreasing oxygen saturation. While there were no significant differences between the groups before and during the vaccination procedure in terms of heart rate (p>0.05), a statistically significant difference was found following the vaccination (p<0.05). In the in-group comparisons of the intervention group, it was found that there were no statistically significant differences between the measurement before the vaccination and the measurements during and after the vaccination (p>0.05). There were statistically significant differences between the measurements during and after the vaccination in terms of heart rate (p<0.05). In-group comparisons of the control group displayed significant differences between each of the 3 measurements (p<0.05). This difference was a continuous and significant increase in heart rate. It was found that the crying durations of the groups displayed statistically significant differences (p<0.05). As a result, to obtain the best healthcare outcomes, it might be recommended that more studies be conducted on the subject of kangaroo care and that kangaroo mother care be included among routine healthcare practices. Keywords: Newborn, Pain, Kangaroo mother care, NIPS