Effect of Hand Holding on Pain and Anxiety

August 19, 2025 updated by: Serpil SU, Necmettin Erbakan University

Effect of Hand Holding on Reducing Intramuscular Injection-Induced Pain and Anxiety: A Randomized Controlled Study

It was aimed to examine the effect of the hand holding method applied during intramuscular injection on pain and anxiety.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

This study was designed as a pre-test-post-test regular parallel group, randomized controlled experimental design. The research will be carried out in the Adult Emergency Service of the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Turkey, Konya City Hospital. Patients will be randomly divided into two groups: handholding (52) and control group (52). For the Hand Holding Group: After the patient is positioned appropriately, the patient's hand will be held by the researcher. Once the intramuscular injection is completed, the patient's hand holding will be stopped. For the Control Group: No application will be made during intramuscular injection in the control group. The primary outcome of this study is to determine patients' pain scores during the intramuscular injection procedure. The secondary outcome is to determine the anxiety levels of patients.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
104

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Meram
      • Konya, Meram, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Necmettin Erbakan University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Having vitamin B 12 1000 mcg/ml (1 ml ampoule) intramuscular treatment,
  • Being literate,
  • Are between the ages of 18-65,
  • No visual, hearing, sensory or motor loss or cognitive impairment,
  • Not using centrally or peripherally acting analgesics or sedatives,
  • There is no scar tissue, incision, lipodystrophy or signs of infection on the skin of the injection area,
  • Having a body mass index between 18.5 and 29.5,
  • Injected into the ventrogluteal area,
  • Individuals who agree to participate in the research will be included.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Those with chronic pain,
  • Having a psychiatric disorder,
  • Foreign nationals,
  • Patients with contact-communicable diseases will be excluded from the study.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Hand Holding Group
In the experimental group, hand holding will be done by the researcher, and intramuscular injection will be done by the clinical nurse. All intramuscular injections will be performed by a single nurse and the ventrogluteal region will be used as the injection site. Patients will first fill out the Voluntary Information and Consent Form, and then the Descriptive Characteristics Form and State Anxiety Scale. After the injection site is evaluated, the researcher will hold the patient's hand, the nurse will enter the tissue at a 90-degree angle and administer the drug slowly (1 ml/10 seconds). After removing the needle from the tissue, the nurse will apply pressure with dry cotton, and then the researcher will stop holding the patient's hand. After the procedure, the Numerical Pain Scale and State Anxiety Scale will be filled in within 1 minute.
Other: Hand Holding
During the intramuscular injection, the aim is to draw the patients' attention elsewhere by holding their hand.
No Intervention: Control Group
In the control group, intramuscular injection will be performed by the clinic nurse. All intramuscular injections will be performed by a single nurse and the ventrogluteal region will be used as the injection site. Patients will first fill out the Voluntary Information and Consent Form, and then the Descriptive Characteristics Form and State Anxiety Scale. After the injection site is assessed, the nurse will enter the tissue at a 90-degree angle and administer the medication slowly (1 ml/10 seconds). After removing the needle from the tissue, the nurse will apply pressure with dry cotton. After the procedure, the Numerical Pain Scale and State Anxiety Scale will be filled in within 1 minute.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Numerical Pain Scale
Time Frame: It will be filled within 1 minute after the intramuscular injection is completed.
A score of "0" indicated the lowest pain, and a score of "10" indicated the highest pain.
It will be filled within 1 minute after the intramuscular injection is completed.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
State Anxiety Scale
Time Frame: It will be filled immediately before the intramuscular injection and within 1 minute after the procedure is completed.
A score between 20-80 is obtained. The highest score obtained from the scale indicates a high level of anxiety, while a low score indicates a low level of anxiety.
It will be filled immediately before the intramuscular injection and within 1 minute after the procedure is completed.

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Necmettin Erbakan University

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Study Chair: Serpil SU, Necmettin Erbakan University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 20, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
September 10, 2024

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
September 10, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 12, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
May 12, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
May 16, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
August 26, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 19, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • Necmettin Erbakan U

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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