Effect of Acupressure Therapy on Pain, Fear, and Post-Injection Satisfaction in Patients Undergoing IM Injection

NCT07063160 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: EasternMUonur
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 68
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The pain that develops when the needle is inserted into the muscle in an Intramuscular injection triggers anxiety in many people and can cause a lifelong fear of Intramuscular injection. Fear related to Intramuscular injection can result in postponing or not having the injection. Injection applications can also cause an increase in pain, fear and anxiety levels in individuals and a decrease in comfort and satisfaction levels. For this reason, nurses are expected to take precautions or implement interventions that will reduce pain, increase comfort and satisfaction, and alleviate the patient's symptoms during drug administration. The use of acupressure therapy can be effective in reducing the feeling of pain and alleviating/eliminating the fear felt against the injection and thus increasing satisfaction after the injection.

Conditions

Injection Fear; Injection Site

Keywords

Intramuscular injection; Acupressure therapy; Pain; Injection Fear; Satisfaction

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (3)

• Visual Analog Scale pain scores of patients in the experimental group who received acupressure treatment after intramuscular injection

  Visual Analog Scale score

  1 day

• Injection Fear Scale scores of patients in the experimental group who received acupressure treatment after intramuscular injection

  Injection Fear Scale score

  1 day

• Post-Injection Satisfaction Scale scores of patients in the experimental group who received acupressure treatment after intramuscular injection

  Satisfaction Scale scores

  1 day

Study Arms (2)

Intramuscular injection after acupressure therapy

EXPERIMENTAL

Before the injection is applied to the patients in the experimental group; First, the patient who filled in the Personal Information Form will first apply pressure with the thumb for 1 minute to the GB 30 point located at the junction between the medial two-thirds and the lateral one-third of a line connecting the greater trochanter and the sacral hiatus with the acupressure therapy method. Then, the Injection Fear Scale will be filled in. Then, Diclofenac Sodium injection will be applied IM. After the injection, the pain intensity will be measured with VAS and finally the Post-Injection Satisfaction Scale will be filled in.

Behavioral: Pain; Behavioral: Fear of injection; Behavioral: Post-injection satisfaction

Intramuscular injection after standard application

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Before the injection to the patients in the control group; Personal Information Form and Injection Fear Scale will be filled. Then, Diclofenac Sodium injection will be applied IM without any therapy method. The patient whose pain intensity is measured with VAS after the injection will finally fill out the Injection Satisfaction Scale.

Behavioral: Pain; Behavioral: Fear of injection; Behavioral: Post-injection satisfaction

Interventions

Pain BEHAVIORAL

Injection was used to determine the level of pain

Intramuscular injection after acupressure therapy; Intramuscular injection after standard application

Fear of injection BEHAVIORAL

The scale developed determines the fear levels of individuals towards the injection procedure. The scale consists of 14 items. It was developed on a 5-point Likert type, 1-I am not afraid at all, 5- I am very afraid. The scale is calculated based on the item score average. The lowest score that can be obtained from the scale is 1, and the highest score is 5. As the score obtained from the scale increases, the level of fear increases. Stated in their research that the Cronbach Alpha value for the entire scale was 0.92.

Intramuscular injection after acupressure therapy; Intramuscular injection after standard application

Post-injection satisfaction BEHAVIORAL

The scale developed to determine the satisfaction levels of patients regarding the injection process. The scale was developed in a 5-point Likert type, 1-I am not satisfied at all, 5-I am very satisfied. The scale is calculated based on the item score average. The lowest score that can be obtained from the scale is 1, and the highest score is 5. As the score obtained from the scale increases, the level of satisfaction increases. Post-injection satisfaction Scale consists of 9 items. In the study conducted, it was determined that the Cronbach Alpha value of the entire scale was 0.895.

Intramuscular injection after acupressure therapy; Intramuscular injection after standard application

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• The patient must be 18 years of age or older,
• Have the physical and mental capacity to correctly evaluate the Visual Analog Scale (VAS),
• Have the capacity to read and understand the research guidelines,
• Have a prescription from the physician that only requests Diclofenac Sodium by Intra Muscular,
• Have their treatment just started,
• Be within the normal weight-obese range according to the BMI determined by the World Health Organization,
• Have not received Intramuscular injections from the Ventrogluteal (VG) region in the last 6 months,
• Have no scars, scar tissue, etc. in the VG region

You may not qualify if:

• \- Using any painkillers on the day of the injection

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Eastern Mediterranean University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Eastern Mediterranean University

Mersin, - Please Select -, 34381, Turkey (Türkiye)

Location

Related Publications (6)

• Ayinde O, Hayward RS, Ross JDC. The effect of intramuscular injection technique on injection associated pain; a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2021 May 3;16(5):e0250883. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250883. eCollection 2021.

  PMID: 33939726 RESULT

• Fu Q, Xie H, Zhou L, Li X, Liu Y, Liu M, Wang C, Wang X, Wang Z, Tang J, Xiao H, Xiao Z, Zhou J, Feng C, Wang L, Ao Z, Chen X, Su C, Wu X, Zhao M, Hu S, Lin H, Huang J, Xu G, Zhang Q, Jiang L. Traditional Chinese medicine auricular point acupressure for the relief of pain, fatigue, and gastrointestinal adverse reactions after the injection of novel coronavirus-19 vaccines: a structured summary of a study protocol for a multicentre, three-arm, single-blind, prospective randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2021 Feb 25;22(1):162. doi: 10.1186/s13063-021-05138-3.

  PMID: 33632286 RESULT

• Sanlialp Zeyrek A, Takmak S, Kurban NK, Arslan S. Systematic review and meta-analysis: Physical-procedural interventions used to reduce pain during intramuscular injections in adults. J Adv Nurs. 2019 Dec;75(12):3346-3361. doi: 10.1111/jan.14183. Epub 2019 Sep 13.

  PMID: 31452229 RESULT

• Suhrabi Z, Taghinejad H. Effect of acupressure (UB32) on pain intensity in intramuscular injections. Iran J Nurs Midwifery Res. 2014 Jan;19(1):24-7.

  PMID: 24554956 RESULT

• Cmc S, Lord H, Vargese SS, Kurian N, Cherian SA, Mathew E, Fernandez R. Effectiveness of physical stimulation for reducing injection pain in adults receiving intramuscular injections: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JBI Evid Synth. 2023 Feb 1;21(2):373-400. doi: 10.11124/JBIES-20-00590.

  PMID: 36758552 RESULT

• Inangil D, Inangil G. The effect of acupressure (GB30) on intramuscular injection pain and satisfaction: Single-blind, randomised controlled study. J Clin Nurs. 2020 Apr;29(7-8):1094-1101. doi: 10.1111/jocn.15172. Epub 2020 Jan 20.

  PMID: 31891437 RESULT

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Iatrophobia; Pain; Personal Satisfaction

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurologic Manifestations; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Msc

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 22, 2025
• First Posted: July 14, 2025
• Study Start: November 15, 2024
• Primary Completion: February 20, 2025
• Study Completion: February 20, 2025
• Last Updated: July 14, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-07

Locations

TU (1)