Scientific and rigorous selection of theories,models or frameworks is the premise of high-quality nursing research.This work introduces the development process,basic information,application in nursing of T-CaST(Theory Comparison and Selection Tool,T-CaST),and shows the specific application process of this tool through examples,to provide evaluation methods for nursing scholars to choose appropriate guiding theories in the research process,and has guiding significance for developing high-quality nursing research under the guidance of theories,models or frameworks.

Objective:To compare the effects of different multisensory stimulation on the oral feeding time of premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), so as to provide a theoretical basis for further implementing multisensory stimulation in clinical practice.Methods:The randomized controlled trial on the effect of multisensory stimulation on the oral feeding in NICU premature infants was systematically searched in both Chinese and English databases. The search period was from database establishment to October 24, 2023. After literature screening and data extraction, the quality of the included literature was evaluated using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized controlled trials, and Bayesian network Meta-analysis was performed using Stata 18.0 software.Results:A total of 39 randomized controlled trials were included, involving 8 different combinations of multisensory stimulation, namely tactile auditory combined stimulation, olfactory taste combined stimulation, tactile taste combined stimulation, auditory taste combined stimulation, tactile kinesthetic combined stimulation, tactile taste olfactory combined stimulation, tactile auditory visual vestibular combined stimulation, and tactile auditory visual vestibular olfactory taste combined stimulation. The network Meta-analysis showed that the taste auditory combined stimulation had the best effect on shortening the transition time of oral feeding in NICU premature infants ( P<0.05), while the tactile taste combined stimulation had the best effect on shortening the complete oral feeding time in NICU premature infants ( P<0.05) . Conclusions:Multisensory stimulation can shorten the oral feeding time of NICU premature infants to varying degrees, among which taste intervention is important, and the effects of tactile sensation and auditory sensation are differentiated. Attention should be paid to the effect of the taste tactile auditory combined stimulation on the oral feeding time of NICU premature infants, and further exploration should be conducted on the impact of the duration and frequency of multisensory stimulation on the intervention effect.