The effects of acupressure on venipuncture pain among 6–12 year-old hospitalized children

Background and Aim: Venipuncture is among the commonest painful invasive procedures performed by nurses. Preventing and alleviating children’s pain is of paramount importance. This study was undertaken to evaluate the impacts of acupressure on venipuncture pain among 6–12 yearold hospitalized children.  Materials and Methods: In this clinical trial, eighty 6–12 yearold children hospitalized in Ali Ibn Abitalib and Moradi Hospitals, Rafsanjan, Iran, were recruited and allocated to the acupressure and the control groups by using the block randomization technique. Pain intensity was assessed in both groups after performing venipuncture by using a selfreport numerical analog scale. Study data were entered into SPSS v. 18.0 and analyzed by performing the Chisquare, the Fisher’s exact, and the MannWhitney tests as well as median regression analysis.  Results: The intensity of venipuncture pain in the acupressure and the control groups was 3.35.±1.8 and 8.65±1.5, respectively. The difference between the study groups regarding the intensity of venipuncture pain was statistically significant (P<0.0001). Conclusion: Study findings suggest that as a nonpharmacological therapy, acupressure is effective in reducing pain. Consequently, it can be used as an effective strategy for managing venipuncture pain.