Table 5.

Evidence for parent-delivered interventions: massage.

Author (year), country	Study design	Population, setting	Type of pain, intervention	Key findings
Çetinkaya et al. (63), Turkey	RCT	40 full-term infants, public health clinic	Infantile colic, aromatherapy abdominal massage 5–15 min during colic attacks vs. control (no intervention)	Mean weekly crying time decreased
Abdallah et al. (64), Libanon	Quasi experimental	66 preterm infants, GA 26–36 weeks, NICU	Heel stick, 10 min massage by parents, a minimum of 10 × vs. control (no intervention)	Reduced PIPP score after heel stick
Zargham-Boroujeni et al. (46), Iran	RCT	75 neonates >34 weeks GA, NICU	Venipuncture, massage on the venipuncture site vs. breastfeeding vs. control (no intervention)	Lower NIPS score than breastfeeding and control groups
Roshanray et al. (61), Iran	RCT	135 full-term newborn infants, health center	Blood sampling, massage of the leg and foot 2 min before blood sampling vs. mother's hug vs. control (no intervention)	No difference in NIPS score immediately after blood sampling. After 5 min, lower NIPS in mother's hug group compared with the massage and control groups

RCT, randomized control trial; GA, gestational age; PIPP, premature infant pain profile; NICU, neonatal intensive care unit; NIPS, Neonatal Infant Pain Score.