American Journal of Advances in Nursing Research

EFFECT OF HELFER SKIN TAP TECHNIQUE ON PAIN REDUCTION AMONG PATIENTS RECEIVING IM INJECTION AT SELECTED HOSPITAL AT IDUKKI DISTRICT

Tincy Abraham1* & Rosline Theres G2

sr.maria1984@gmail.com

Helfer skin tap; effect; patient; pain; IM injection

Pain is an unpleasant feeling and emotional experience that is related to real or potential tissue damage. From many points of view, the pain is a common symptom intended for seeking aid. Intramuscular injection is a common practice in modern medicine it is used to deliver several drugs and almost all vaccines. Pain originating during intramuscular (IM) injection should not be underrated, because a painful injection might incite severe fear of injection, which may delay the patient seeking medical help. A study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Helfer skin tap technique on perception of pain among patient receiving IM injection. A quasi experimental design of pretest posttest control group design was used for the study. In this study, sample consisted of patients who received test dose and full dose of Diclofenac IM injection, the sample consists of 60 subjects. Patients were selected by consecutive sampling technique. First experimental and control group received test dose of Diclofenac (.5ml) IM injection with routine technique. During administration of injection the trained rater assess the level of pain by using Dolor behavioral scale and after injections the subjects was given necessary instructions by the investigator to rate the numerical pain rating scale. During the posttest the full dose of Diclofenac injection was administered by the investigator with Helfer skin tap technique. And at the same time routine technique was adopted to control group. The trained rater observed the patient and pain score was taken and recorded. The collected data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics. Independent t test was adopted to compare the posttest pain score in both groups. The posttest mean pain score of experimental group was 3.27 and SD of 1.48. During the posttest the control group exhibited mean pain score of 5.233 and SD of 2.42.Since the p value is < 0.000, it indicates that there is a significant difference in posttest level of pain among experimental group and control group. The findings of the present study revealed that the Helfer skin tap technique had an effect on reducing pain during IM injection.