The Effect of Shot Blocker and Z – Track Techniques on Reducing the Needle Pain and Anxiety Associated With Intramuscular Injection

Abstract

Administering IM injection is one of the basic and important duties of a nurse often associated with pain and anxiety. Providing pain relief is considered a basic human right and it is the duties of the nurse to use most successful techniques to minimize pain. Different methods are used by the nurses to reduce pain during intramuscular injections such as applying pressure, taping the skin, giving injections to a relaxed muscle, applying cold, ShotBlocker, and Z-track techniques. Aim: the study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using ShotBlocker and Z – Track techniques on minimizing the needle pain and anxiety among adult receiving intramuscular injection. Methods: Quazi experimental research design was conducted at Medical & Surgical department at Mansoura University Hospital. A convenient sample of a sixty adult patients, aged (18-65 years old) .Subjects were selected by simple random sampling technique and assigned in to two groups ,30 for each(30 in shotblocker  and 30 in Z- track technique). Results: It revealed that the pain score was reduced when IM injections were administered using ShotBlocker and Z-track techniques (second injection) rather than routine standard technique (first injection).The patients in the group II (Z-track) shows that a mean anxiety score was decrease after second injection. There was no statistical significant difference between two groups before and after two times of injections. While there was a statistical significant difference between first injection and second injection in group II, where p- value = 0.000. But no statistical significant difference between first injection and second injection in group I, where p- value = 0.330. Conclusion: It was noticed that the ShotBlocker and Z-track technique was effective in minimizing needle pain perception and Z-track technique is effective in minimizing level of anxiety but ShotBlocker was not effective in reducing anxiety.