Easing Heel Lance Pain: The Role of Nesting Position as Nursing Intervention in Preterm Neonates
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31674/mjn.2026.v18i02.013Abstract
Background: The role of neonatal nurses is pivotal in the assessment and management of pain, as unmanaged pain in premature infants triggers hemodynamic volatility, leading to physiological instability and aberrant neurodevelopmental trajectories. Nesting positioning is a method for mitigating systemic pain responses. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of nesting position on procedural pain among preterm neonates undergoing heel lance procedures. Methods: A quasi-experimental research design was conducted at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Assiut University Children Hospital, Egypt, on a purposive sampling of 60 preterms whose gestational age ranged from 28-36 weeks. Data collection was conducted over an eight-month period, from October 2024 to May 2025. Preterm neonates were divided into two groups equally: 30 in the nesting group and 30 in the control group. Pain assessed by trained neonatal nurses blinded to group assignment to minimize observer bias Data quantification relied on structured questionnaire form, and Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised (PIPP-Revised) scale. Results: The study found that 56.7% of preterm neonates in the nesting group were pain-free during the heel lance procedure, compared to 0% in the control group. Immediately after the procedure, 83.3% of preterm neonates in the nesting group were pain-free, compared to 10.0% in the control group. Conclusion: The study findings confirm that the implementation of nesting position as a nursing intervention significantly reduced pain severity during and immediately after the procedure. The study recommends institutionalizing this positioning strategy as a fundamental component of routine neonatal nursing practice is strongly advocated.
Keywords:
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Non-Pharmacological Pain Management, Premature Infant Pain Profile-RevisedDownloads
References
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