Effects of White Noise and Therapeutic Touch on Pain and Comfort in Newborns during Heel Lance

BACKGROUND: Nonpharmacological methods such as white noise and therapeutic touch can be used in pain management in neonates. PURPOSE: This randomized controlled study evaluated the effects of white noise and therapeutic touch during heel lance procedures on pain, comfort levels, and physiological parameters in healthy neonates. METHODS: This parallel, randomized controlled study was conducted in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Service of a regional hospital. The sample comprised 160 neonates with gestational ages of >35 weeks randomly assigned to 4 groups (white noise [WN], therapeutic touch [TT], white noise + therapeutic touch [WT], and control [CG] group). Pain and comfort levels were evaluated according to the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale, and the COMFORTneo Scale. The primary outcomes were pain and comfort levels, and the secondary outcomes were heart rate and SpO2 levels. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the scale scores among groups. RESULTS: There were significant differences among groups in terms of Neonatal Infant Pain Scale and COMFORTneo scores (P < .05). The pain scores for the white noise, therapeutic touch, and white noise + therapeutic touch groups were 4.2 ± 2.0, 5.2 ± 1.6, and 3.3 ± 1.7, respectively. There was a significant difference in average heart rate during the heel lance procedure among the groups (P < .05). Pain scores of the intervention groups were lower compared to the control group. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND RESEARCH: The combination of white noise and therapeutic touch was more effective in reducing pain and increasing comfort levels. Nurses could reduce procedural pain by applying these pain relief methods.