EFFECTS OF TWO PAİN MANAGEMENT EDUCATİON METHODS DURİNG HEEL PRİCK PROCEDURES ON MATERNAL ANXİETY AND NEONATAL PAİN

The International Association for the Study of Pain has defined pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential injury" (IASP, 1979). However, it has been noted that this definition is insufficient in newborns, who lack verbal communication, as they cannot express pain and have no opportunity to refuse treatment (Anand & Craig 1996), and later, pain was redefined as an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with or similar to actual or potential tissue damage (Raja et al. 2020). Newborns are frequently exposed to painful procedures during diagnostic and therapeutic processes such as routine newborn screenings, blood glucose measurement, and immunization (WHO, 2017). It has been reported that painful interventions experienced in early childhood can lead to short-term physiological changes as well as neurodevelopmental consequences (AAP 2016; Hatfield & Ely, 2015). Furthermore, it has been shown that exposure to painful stimuli in early life may be associated with stress responses and behavioral changes later in life (Taddio et al. 1997). The first step in pain management is the accurate assessment of pain. Therefore, it is important to use validated scales in the assessment of pain in newborns and to apply appropriate pain management methods (Costa et al. 2017; Rocha et al. 2021). Although pharmacological methods are frequently used in pain management in infants, interest in non-pharmacological methods has increased in recent years due to the physiological immaturity of newborns and possible side effects of drugs (Allegaert and van den Anker, 2017). Methods such as holding, non-nutritive sucking, breastfeeding, sucrose/glucose solutions, skin-to-skin contact, and swaddling are reported to be effective in reducing pain scores during short-term painful procedures (Mangat et al. 2018). The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that families be actively involved in the prevention and management of pain in newborns (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2016). Within the framework of the family-centered care approach, parental participation in the care of their babies is encouraged, and it is reported that the education given to parents increases the use of pain management methods (Taddio et al. 2013; Campbell-Yeo et al. 2017; Chambers et al. 2020). However, studies that evaluate the effects of different education methods given to mothers during heel prick blood sampling, one of the frequently performed painful procedures in newborns, on mothers' anxiety levels, non-pharmacological method use, and newborn pain are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to determine mothers' approaches to pain management during heel prick blood sampling performed within the scope of newborn screening and to evaluate the effects of two different education methods given before the procedure on mothers' use of non-pharmacological methods, anxiety levels, and newborn pain.