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Published on: February 9, 2024
Effect of flick application on pain level and duration of crying during infant vaccination
Esra Karaca Ciftci1, Funda Kardas Ozdemir2, Diler Aydın3
1Department of Child Health Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Zirve University, 27260, Gaziantep, Turkey. esra.karaca@zirve.edu.tr.
Insights
Applying a flick to infants before vaccination significantly reduces their pain levels during the procedure. This simple method can help alleviate infant distress during immunizations.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Pain Management
- Immunology
Background:
- Infant vaccination is associated with pain and crying.
- Effective pain reduction strategies are crucial for infant well-being during immunization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of a flick application in reducing pain and crying duration in infants during vaccination.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial was conducted on one-month-old infants receiving the Hepatitis B vaccine.
- Infants were divided into an experimental group (receiving a flick before vaccination) and a control group (standard vaccination).
- Pain levels were assessed using the Neonatal Infant Pain Scale (NIPS), and crying duration was recorded.
Main Results:
- A significant reduction in pain scores was observed in the flick group during and after vaccination compared to the control group (p < 0.01 and p < 0.001, respectively).
- No significant difference in crying duration was found between the groups (p > 0.05).
- Pre-application pain scores showed no significant difference between the groups (p > 0.05).
Conclusions:
- Flick application is an effective intervention to reduce pain experienced by infants during vaccination.
- This method offers a simple, non-pharmacological approach to improve the vaccination experience for infants.
Background:
The aim of the research is to determine the effect of flick application to reduce pain on pain level and duration of crying during vaccination.
Method:
This research was carried out on one-month-old babies in a family health center between March and June 2015. The babies coming for the second dose of Hepatitis B vaccine were divided into experiment and control groups. The babies in experiment group were flicked just before they were vaccinated. On the other hand, the babies in control group were vaccinated in usual way, with no other application. The pain level of babies in both groups was determined using "Neonatal Infant Pain Scale". In addition, babies' duration of crying was recorded.
Results:
In the study, it was detected that there was not a significant difference between pain score averages of babies in experiment and control groups (p > 0.05) before the application, however a significant difference in pain score average was detected during the application (p < 0.01) and after the application (p < 0.001). Babies' duration of crying was compared and it was determined that babies in experiment group cried for shorter period, but no relevance was found (p > 0.05).
Conclusions:
Flick application at vaccination area could be used to reduce pain during vaccination at babies.

