Hand massage application steps were based on Kolcaba's Comfort Theory, and the protocol was followed accordingly

Individuals in the control group did not receive any intervention and received routine nursing care. The patients in the control group were administered VAS, GCS-SF, and STAI twice at 10-minute intervals on the first day after randomization and VAS, GCS-SF, and STAI two weeks later.

Hand massage was applied for a total of 12 sessions in two weeks. Care was taken to perform the hand massage application outside the treatment and care hours, and it was performed in a quiet environment. The application was started from the same hand in the same patient in each session, and the same clinic nurse massaged all patients. Since the patients were in the intensive care unit, their vital signs were monitored 24. It was carefully monitored whether there was any change in vital signs during the massage. The patient's hand to be applied was placed on the pillow or bed. Clothes covering the upper extremity starting from the elbow area were removed. The patient was placed in a supine or semi-fowler position. The nurse practitioner took a standing position. She started the massage with effleurage, first on the back of the hand, then on the palm, from the fingertips towards the heart direction, placing the thumbs on the area to be treated and applying effleurage 5 times in a half-mo

It is a 10 cm horizontal or vertical line with different numbers on both ends (0=no pain, 10=most severe pain). In many studies, it is used as an easy-to-apply and understandable scale for the assessment of pain intensity. VAS is also used for the assessment of comfort.

The scale has sub-dimensions of relief (9 items), ease (9 items), and transcendence (10 items). In the evaluation of the scale consisting of positive and negative items, negative items are reverse coded and summed. The highest total score that can be obtained from the scale is 112, and the lowest score is 28

The scale, which was developed based on the two-factor anxiety concept to determine the state and trait anxiety levels of individuals, consists of a total of 40 items and two separate sections. Two different sections determine transient-state (20 items) and trait (20 items) anxiety levels. The State Anxiety Scale (SAS) determines how the individual feels at a certain moment and in a certain situation, and the Trait Anxiety Scale (TAS) determines how the individual generally feels. A total of 20-80 points are obtained from these scales. The highest score obtained from the scale indicates a high level of anxiety. An increase in the total score obtained from the scale indicates a high level of anxiety.