The impact of the cough trick, spirometer blowing, and stress ball methods on older adults' pain, anxiety, and comfort during peripheral intravenous catheter practice: A randomized controlled study

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the impact of the cough trick, spirometer blowing, and stress ball methods on older adults' pain, anxiety, and comfort levels during peripheral intravenous catheter practice in an emergency department. The research sample consisted of three intervention groups-cough trick, spirometer blowing, and stress ball-and a control group. Each group consisted of 31 patients, resulting in a total of 124 patients. The intervention groups showed a significant decrease in pain (p < 0.001) and anxiety (p < 0.001) levels and a significant increase in comfort (p < 0.001) levels over time, compared to the control group. Thus, the cough trick, spirometer blowing, and stress ball techniques were found to be effective in reducing pain and anxiety levels and elevating comfort levels among older adults during peripheral intravenous catheterization. (c) 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.