Effect of family presence on pain and anxiety during invasive nursing procedures in an emergency department: A randomized controlled experimental study

•Family presence in painful interventions reduces anxiety.•This issue draws attention in the pediatric literature and/or medical interventions.•There are no studies about family presence during invasive nursing interventions.•Family presence did not influence the pain and anxiety in this study.•The decision about family presence should be left to the patient.

BackgroundPatients generally prefer to have their family present during medical or nursing interventions. Family presence is assumed to reduce anxiety, especially during painful interventions.AimThis study employed a randomized controlled experimental design to determine the effects of family presence on pain and anxiety during invasive nursing procedures.MethodThe study population consisted of patients hospitalized in the observation unit of the internal medicine section in the emergency department of a university hospital. The sample comprised 138 patients assigned into the experimental and control groups by drawing lots. The invasive nursing procedure was carried out in the presence of family members, for members of the experimental group, and without family members, for members of the control group. Thus, the effects of family presence on pain and anxiety during the administration of an invasive nursing procedure to patients were analyzed.ResultsThe results showed that members of the experimental and control groups did not differ with respect to the pain and state anxiety scores during the intervention.ConclusionFamily presence does not influence the participants' pain and anxiety during an invasive nursing procedure. Thus, the decision regarding family presence during such procedures should be based on patient preference.