Comparison of Manual Pressure and Shotblocker on Pain and Satisfaction in Intramuscular Injection: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Intramuscular injection pain can create a negative experience for both patients and nurses performing the application. It has been recently become more important to reduce the pain and anxiety caused by injection in nursing care due to the prominence of the concept of quality in health services. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of manual pressure applied before injection and ShotBlocker on pain and injection satisfaction associated with intramuscular injection. This research is a randomized controlled experimental clinical trial. The sample of the study was composed of a total of 120 people over 18 years of age who applied to the emergency department of a university hospital. The participants were assigned to the ShotBlocker (40), the manual pressure (40) and the control group (40) with a randomization list generated using a computer. Visual Analog Scale and Injection Satisfaction Form were applied to the patients in the first minute after the injection. The ShotBlocker and the manual pressure groups had lower pain levels and higher injection satisfaction levels compared to the control group. Therefore, manual pressure and ShotBlocker are recommended to reduce pain associated with intramuscular injection and increase injection satisfaction.