PURPOSE: This study is aimed to confirm the effects of Yakson therapy on the growth and physical response of preterm infants, and maternal attachment to them compared with GHT therapy. METHOD: The design of this study is nonequivalent control group with repeated measuring by quasi experimental study. The subjects are preterm infants in 26 - 34 gestational age hospitalized in the NICU of 4 university hospitals with an experimental group of 15 and a control group of 14. Yakson therapy consists of three phases: laying a hand, caressing by hand, and laying a hand again taking 5 minutes for each phase. RESULT: As a result of administering Yakson therapy to preterm infants; the average weight gain of the Yakson group was higher than that of the GHT group, but there is no significant difference between groups. The oxygen saturation and maternal attachment difference between the Yakson and the GHT group were not significant. Significant differences in the average daily increase of oral intake and apical pulse rate were observed between the Yakson group and GHT group. CONCLUSION: These data suggested that Yakson therapy may be an effective nursing intervention which can facilitate growth and physical response of preterm infants.
Child Development ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature/*growth & development/physiology ; Intensive Care, Neonatal/*methods ; Male ; Mother-Child Relations ; Neonatal Nursing/*methods ; Pregnancy ; Therapeutic Touch/*methods

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of Yakson therapy as a pain management tool on the physiologic and behavioral reponses of infants with a painful heelstick procedure. METHOD: Infants were randomly assigned to a group that underwent a series of Yakson therapy and a control that received nothingbefore a heelstick. Heart rate, oxygen saturation, and NIPS were compared between the experimental (n=16) and control (n=16) infants during an undisturbed baseline and after a standard heelstick procedure. Yakson therapy consisted of laying a hand on the back, and caressing the abdomen by hand for 5 minutes. RESULT: The pain scores of the Yakson group were lower than the control group. Foroxygen saturation, there were statistically significant differences between groups. For heart rate, there were no statistically significant differences between groups. CONCLUSION: This data suggests that Yakson therapy had a pain relief effect in behavior responses and SaO2. Accordingly, Yakson therapy should be used as a nursing intervention for simple pain management for a heel prick.
Blood Specimen Collection ; Female ; Heart Rate ; Heel ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; *Neonatal Nursing ; Oximetry ; Pain/nursing/*therapy ; Pain Measurement ; Punctures/adverse effects ; Therapeutic Touch/*methods/nursing