Helfer Skin Tap Technique for IM Injection Pain: A Review

Pain is a complex phenomenon, a subjective sensation which normally humans tend to avoid. The current review was done with an objective of exploring whether nurses are aware of Helfer skin tap technique (HST) and practicing it in clinical areas. Review of literature was done in print and online media, including searches at pubmed and google scholar. Studies conducted since last twenty years were searched. It was found that innumerable number of researches have been done assessing the effect of Helfer Skin tap technique on IM injection pain concluding that it is significantly effective. Researches have used quasi experimental, posttest cross over design at different settings in India. No RCT was found on this subject. Conclusion Nurses need to conduct RCTs to evaluate the effect of HST so that it can be incorporated in the curriculum of student nurses. Practicing Helfer skin tap technique routinely by nurses can contribute to improve patients comfort level by reducing the interventional pain.