The Effect of Stress Ball on Anxiety, Comfort and Non Stress Test Parameters of Pregnant Women During Non Stress Testing

Gaziantep Islam Science and Technology University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Comfort; Anxiety

Treatments: Other: Stress Ball

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06741254

2024/444

Details and patient eligibility

About

Non-stress testing (NST) is used to assess fetal wellbeing and to detect and intervene early in fetuses at risk. NST is an easy to administer, noninvasive, prenatal assessment method used from 32 weeks of gestation to term. High levels of anxiety during the common NST procedure can negatively affect the test result and increase the rate of nonreactive NST, potentially leading to misinterpretation. Therefore, midwifery/nursing interventions to make the pregnant woman comfortable during the procedure and to reduce anxiety and stress are important.

Full description

Non-stress testing (NST) is used to assess fetal wellbeing and to detect and intervene early in fetuses at risk. NST is an easy to administer, noninvasive, prenatal assessment method used from 32 weeks of gestation to term. High levels of anxiety during the common NST procedure can negatively affect the test result and increase the rate of non-reactive NST, potentially leading to misinterpretation. Therefore, midwifery/nursing interventions to make the pregnant woman comfortable during the procedure and to reduce anxiety and stress are important. Stress ball is one of the nonpharmacological methods in the management of pain, stress and anxiety based on the logic of drawing the attention of the person to a different side and is an application for the sense of touch. In the obstetric field, there have been studies evaluating the effects of stress ball application on labor and vascular pain of pregnant women, but there is no study evaluating anxiety, comfort and NST parameters during NST.

Enrollment: 70 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 18 to 35 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• To be between the ages of 18-35,
• Turkish as the mother tongue,
• Being literate, having a singleton pregnancy,
• She has had NST at least once before,
• 32 weeks or more gestation,
• Being multiparous,
• Having eaten at least two hours before the NST procedure,
• Volunteering to participate in the research.

Exclusion criteria

• Having a high-risk pregnancy,
• Having a psychiatric disorder,
• Being pregnant with an urgent NST result,
• Smoking or drinking alcohol at least two hours before the NST procedure,
• Having any problem that prevents communication (such as hearing, speaking, ability to understand), having a visual, hearing, speech, physical or mental disability.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Prevention

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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70 participants in 2 patient groups

Experimental (Stress Ball)

Experimental group

Description:

Pregnant women included in the experimental group will be asked for written informed consent before the NST application, and the Pregnant Descriptive Information Form, State Anxiety Scale and Visual Comfort Scale will be completed. Then, the NST device will be connected to the pregnant woman and the Stress ball application will be started. During the NST procedure (average 20-30 minutes), the pregnant woman will lie on her left side. A stress ball will be placed in the right hand of the pregnant woman. The pregnant woman will be instructed to squeeze the stress ball for 2-3 seconds and then relax the hand and arm. This process will be repeated throughout the NST. During the NST application, the pregnant researcher will remain under the supervision of the midwife/nurse. The State Anxiety Scale and Visual Comfort Scale will be repeated immediately after the NST procedure. The NST result form will be filled out according to the NST printout.

Treatment:

Other: Stress Ball

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Written informed consent will be obtained from the pregnant women in the control group before the NST application, and the Pregnant Descriptive Information Form, State Anxiety Scale and Visual Comfort Scale will be completed. Then the NST device will be connected to the pregnant woman. Pregnant women in this group will not be given a stress ball. During the NST procedure (average 20-30 minutes), the pregnant woman will lie on her left side. During the NST procedure, the pregnant woman will remain under the supervision of the researcher midwife/nurse. The State Anxiety Scale and Visual Comfort Scale will be repeated immediately after the NST procedure. The NST result form will be filled according to the NST trace.