Assessing and managing pain in the preterm in a noenatal intensive care unit setting

Abstract

Pain in the preterm is a sensitive topic worldwide. Pain assessment and management are crucial for the preterm to have an optimal level of adequate pain relief. This study aimed to explore how midwives and nurses in the local Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) assess and manage the preterm's pain. The study's objectives are to explore what methods are used to assess pain in the preterm infant and to identify by which means pain is managed. This study was accomplished by adopting a quantitative approach and data was collected by means of a semi-structured questionnaire. The participants were recruited by purposive sampling from a target population of qualified midwives and nurses working in the local NICU for more than six months. A response rate of 85.7% was yielded, as in all 30 midwives and nurses participated. The data collected was analyzed manually and descriptive statistics were used. Pie charts, tables and graphs were also used to represent the data concisely. The results suggested that participants knew how to assess pain in the preterm. However 90% of participants were not aware of established pain assessment tools. Midwives and nurses were noticed to manage pain using both pharmacologic agents and comfort measures. On the other hand, it is evident that there is not enough knowledge on the effectiveness of both pharmacologic and comfort measures. Even though the results obtained were in accordance with the current literature available, they cannot be generalized to the whole population of midwives and nurses working at the NICU. This owes to the fact that a small sample size and purposive sampling were utilized. However in view of these results, various implications and recommendations were put forward. It was recommended that midwives and nurses should be sensitive on assessing the preterm's pain. Moreover the implementation of a neonatal pain assessment tool in the local setting should also be considered. Implications for further education about pain in the preterm were also addressed so as to increase awareness and provide reliable assessment and management of the preterm's pain for a better outcome.