Highlights
- •To reduce the negative effects of the PCR test in adolescents, it is important to use attracting attention methods.
- •Stress ball and relaxation exercises were found to be effective in reducing the pain and fear levels of adolescents.
- •It is recommended that in-service training should be planned for health professionals to use the methods.
- •It is recommended to spread the use of these non-invasive nursing interventions in PCR testing in health institutions.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of stress balls and relaxation exercises
in relieving PCR test-induced fear and pain in adolescents.
Design and methods
A randomized controlled experimental study with a parallel-group design was conducted.
The sample size was determined by G*Power analysis, and 32 adolescents were included
in each group accordingly. The data were collected using the Adolescent and Parent
Information Form, The Children's Fear Scale, and The Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale.
Descriptive statistics, t-test, paired t-test, ANOVA, and Tukey's forward analysis were used to analyze the
data.
Results
The mean age was 14.93 ± 2.07 years for the adolescents, 43.58 ± 4.50 years for the
mothers, and 48.25 ± 4.92 years for the fathers. Adolescents were stratified according
to age, gender, and fear of invasive procedures, and homogeneity was ensured in their
distribution to the groups. The pre-procedural level of fear was moderate in each
group with no significant difference (p > 0.05). However, a significant difference was found between the groups in terms
of both post-procedure levels of fear and pain. The pre-procedural fear of the adolescents
in the control group (3.91 ± 0.29) did not change much after the procedure (3.91 ±
0.30), while there was a decrease in the other groups. The least post-procedure fear
(0.09 ± 0.29) and pain (0.44 ± 0.67) were found to be in the relaxation exercise group.
Conclusions and practice implications
Relaxation exercise is the most effective method to reduce fear and pain during the
PCR procedure. It is recommended to use it during the PCR procedure for being easily
accessible, applicable, and cost-effective.
Clinical Trials ID: NCT05250544.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 14, 2022
Accepted:
December 1,
2022
Received in revised form:
December 1,
2022
Received:
October 9,
2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
