Non-pharmacological and complementary interventions for comfort promotion in pediatric intensive care units: A systematic review.

Authors

Mine Nur Temuçin, Evrim Kızıler, Dilek Küçük Alemdar

Published in

Journal of pediatric nursing. Oct 01, 2026. Epub Oct 01, 2026.

Abstract

Comfort is a fundamental yet often underaddressed aspect of care in pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), where children experience pain, anxiety, and physiological distress from invasive procedures and environmental stressors. Although pharmacological management is essential, it may cause adverse effects. Non-pharmacological and complementary nursing interventions have emerged as adjunctive strategies, but their effectiveness has not been systematically synthesized.
This systematic review aimed to evaluate and synthesize the available evidence on the effects of non-pharmacological and complementary nursing interventions on comfort-related outcomes in children hospitalized in PICUs.
This systematic review followed PRISMA 2020 guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO (CRD420261398877). PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Scopus were searched between May 18 and June 4, 2026. Eligible studies were English-language quantitative intervention studies involving children admitted to PICUs. Two reviewers independently conducted study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment. Due to heterogeneity, a narrative synthesis was performed.
Six studies involving 492 children were included. Interventions comprised music-based approaches, maternal voice recordings, traditional bathing, and soothing care practices. Music interventions reduced COMFORT Behavior Scale scores and improved physiological parameters. Maternal voice recordings reduced procedural pain, while traditional bathing improved comfort compared with wipe bathing. One study reported reduced midazolam use and shorter mechanical ventilation duration.
Non-pharmacological and complementary nursing interventions may improve comfort and reduce physiological distress in critically ill children. These low-cost, nurse-led strategies appear to be valuable adjuncts to routine PICU care. Further high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to strengthen the evidence base.

PMID:
42823236
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 02 Oct 2026.

Read full publication at:
Please sign in to see all details.

Stats

1-terrible, 9-excellent. How would you rate this publication? Sign in in to submit your rating.

Post a comment

You need to be signed in to post comments. You can sign in here.

Comments

There are no comments yet.