Impact of nurse and beloved family member’s voice stimulus on the level of consciousness and physiological parameters in comatose patients

ABSTRACT Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the effect of nurse and beloved family member’s recording voice on consciousness and physical parameters in patients with coma state. Materials and Methods: A randomized control trial parallel group design was conducted among 45 comatose patients divided into two intervention groups, i.e. nurse voice stimulus group, receiving nurses voice with standard care, family members voice stimulus group receiving their beloved family member voice with standard care and one control group receiving only standard care in medicine intensive care unit. The intervention was provided three times a day, each lasting 5 min for 7 days in addition to standard care. Repeated measure analysis of variance and independent t-test were used to compare within and between groups, respectively. Results: The study found significant differences in Glasgow coma scale (GCS) scores within both the nurse ( F = 2.78, P = 0.042) and family member ( F = 10.27, P = 0.0001) voice stimulus groups over 7 days. Comparing GCS scores between intervention groups showed significant variations before ( P = 0.028), during ( P = 0.047), and after ( P = 0.036) the intervention on day 7. Comparing GCS scores between the family members’ voice stimulus group and the control group, significant changes were observed on days 5 and 7 ( P = 0.043, 0.030, 0.030, and 0.014, 0.012, 0.012) before, during, and after the intervention. Conclusions: The use of beloved family members’ voices proved more effective in elevating the patients’ level of consciousness compared to both the nurse voice stimulus group and the control group.