A study to assess the effectiveness of helfer skin tap technique on pain during intramuscular injection among infants in selected hospital at Mysuru

Introduction: Pain is a common and disagreeable sensation for children and adult. Every child has his or her own perception of pain. Routine immunizations are the most frequent painful medical procedure during childhood. Health care professionals trying to provide vaccine to the infants with a less painful experience at their level of comfort, skin tapping (Helfer skin technique) is one of the methods which keeps the muscles relaxed and thus reduce pain while administering IM injection. Aim: The aim of the study to assess the effectiveness of helfer skin tap technique on pain during intramuscular injection among infants in selected hospital at Mysuru. Methodology: True Experimental, Post-test only Control group design was adopted for the study. Systematic random sampling technique was used to select the study subjects, 30 each in experimental and control group. Helfer skin tapping was administered only to infants in experimental group. Pain scores were assessed by FLACC pain scale at 0 minute. Results: The analysis of the findings high lights that there was a significant difference between the post-test pain scores of infants during IM injection at 0 minute in control and experimental group which was statistically tested using independent‘t’ test (t(58)= 5.74; p<0.05) was found to be significant at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the study also highlighted that pain scores of infants during IM injection at 0 minute with Helfer skin tap technique had no significant association with their selected personal variables. Conclusion: The study concluded that Helfer skin tap technique was effective in reducing the vaccination pain among infants.