The Effect of Multisensory Stimulus Method on Pain and Physiological Parameters in Infants

The emergence of needle phobia in childhood often precipitates avoidance behaviors toward vaccinations (McLenon & Rogers, 2019). Mitigating vaccine-induced pain holds promise in alleviating healthcare avoidance inclinations (Komaroff & Forest, 2020). An expanding body of evidence substantiates the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions in ameliorating acute procedural pain in neonates and infants (Aydın & İnal, 2019; Reece-Stremtan & Gray, 2016).

One such auspicious non-pharmacological approach to pain management is multisensory stimulation, also recognized as sensory saturation. Multisensory stimulation constitutes a non-pharmacological strategy employed to diminish infant pain during acute procedures. Grounded in gate control theory, it postulates that administering both a sweet taste and a spectrum of stimuli to infants may yield heightened analgesic effects (Bellini et al., 2012). The amalgamation of various interventions such as massage, auditory stimuli, olfactory cues, and eye contact via multisensory stimulation engages broader cortical regions and saturates sensory pathways, thereby attenuating nociceptive inputs (Zeraati et al., 2017).

A review of the literature underscores the efficacy of multisensory stimulation as a non-pharmacological modality to alleviate painful procedures in preterm neonates (Anand et al., 2011). Moreover, it demonstrates superior efficacy compared to single pain relief modalities in mitigating pain during venipuncture in infants (Fitri et al., 2020). Despite the demonstrated efficacy of multisensory stimulation as a straightforward, effective, and safe analgesic method during painful neonatal examinations, studies evaluating its effectiveness during vaccine administration are notably absent. Furthermore, scant research has explored the influence of the practitioner (whether mother, nurse, or physician) on the efficacy of this method.

Hypotheses : Babies who underwent the multi-sensory stimulation method; the Pain scale score is lower than the control group, the crying duration is shorter than the control group, the heart rate is lower than the control group, and the saturation (SPO2) is higher than the control group. In the group where the mother is the practitioner of the Multi-sensory stimulation method, compared to the group where the nurse is the practitioner; the pain scale score is low, the crying duration is low, the heart rate is low, saturation level (SPO2) is high.

Aim:

Hence, this study aims to investigate the impact of multisensory stimulation administered by both mothers and nurses on pain perception and physiological parameters during vaccine administration.

Place and Time of the Research:

The data were collected at the Healthy Child Vaccination Unit of a university hospital by visiting the institution two days a week, on Thursdays and Fridays, between January 2023 and December 2023.

Universe and Sample After obtaining the necessary legal permissions (ethics committee approval and institutional permission), the population of the study consisted of infants between the ages of 2-6 months who were applied to the Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medical Faculty vaccination room by their mothers for routine vaccination on the dates of the study.

The research sample consisted of 96 infants between the ages of 2-6 months who were brought to the vaccination room between January 2023 and October 2023, met the inclusion criteria, and whose parents gave written informed consent. According to the power analysis, a total of 96 babies were kept safe, 24 babies per group.

Randomization Babies who met the research selection criteria were the group in which the multi-sensory stimulation method was applied, the approved group of the multi-sensory stimulation method, the experimental group, the breastfeeding group, and the control group according to age (2 months, 4 months, 6 months) in which the block randomization method was mostly applied.

Independent variables: Multi-sensory stimulation method Dependent variables: Duration of infant crying, FLACC pain scale score, peak heart rate, saturation (SPO2) level.

Data Collection Method The data were collected by the researcher in the unit where the research was conducted

Data Collection Tools

• Data Collection Form prepared by the researcher to determine the demographic characteristics of the baby. Some information (such as gestational week, gender, and anthropometric measurements at birth) was obtained from the child's personal records.
• FLACC scale to determine the pain score before, during, and after vaccination of infants,
• Pulse Oximetry Device to detect oxygen saturation (SPO2) and heart rate before, during and after immunization of infants,
• Weighing Instrument for determining the current weight of infants,
• Height Measuring Tape for determining the current height of babies,
• Multi-sensory stimulation method

Procedure The babies included in the study were divided into 4 groups by block randomization method after obtaining ethical and institutional permission. Multi-sensory stimulation method was applied by the mother to the 1st experimental group and by the nurse to the 2nd experimental group. In the breastfeeding group, the mother only breastfed, and no application was applied to the control group.

In all groups, FLACC pain scale, oxygen saturation, and pulse oximetry were evaluated and recorded 5 minutes and 2 minutes before the vaccination process, just before the vaccination, immediately after the vaccination (pain during the procedure), and at the 2nd and 5th minutes after the procedure. Post-vaccination crying duration was recorded in all groups.

Inclusion criteria

• Being healthy
• Parental consent to participate in the study
• Born between 38-42 weeks of gestation
• To take part in the routine vaccination programme of the Ministry of Health

Exclusion criteria

• - Having taken analgesic, muscle relaxant or sedation within the last 4 hours