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Integrative Care Therapies and Physiological and Pain-related Outcomes in Hospitalized Infants

Elizabeth E Hathaway1, Christina M Luberto2, Lois H Bogenschutz3

  • 1Department of Family and Community Medicine, Division of Integrative Medicine, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Ohio, United States (Ms Hathaway).

Global Advances in Health and Medicine
|September 3, 2015
PubMed

Insights

Integrative therapies like massage and healing touch significantly reduced pain and improved physiological outcomes in hospitalized infants. These findings suggest their potential as effective pain management strategies in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal Intensive Care
  • Integrative Medicine
  • Pain Management

Background:

  • Pain is a prevalent issue in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
  • Limited research exists on integrative care therapies' effects on neonatal pain, especially concerning physiological outcomes and practice-based settings.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between integrative care therapies (massage, healing touch) and pain-related outcomes in hospitalized infants.
  • To examine these associations within a practice-based retrospective study design.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of a clinical database from a level III NICU.
  • Paired-samples t-tests analyzed pre-post therapy changes in therapist-rated pain, infant presentation, heart rate, and oxygen saturation.

Main Results:

  • Statistically significant improvements were noted in heart rate (156 to 140 bpm), oxygen saturation (95.0% to 97.4%), therapist-rated pain (2.8 to 0.2), and infant presentation (3.2 to 1.0).
  • These improvements occurred following massage and/or healing touch therapies in 186 infants.

Conclusions:

  • Massage and healing touch demonstrated positive effects on pain-related outcomes in neonates.
  • These integrative therapies show promise as valuable options for pain management within the NICU setting.
Abstract

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