Knowledge of the nursing team about the newborn’s pain

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To describe the knowledge of the nursing team about the evaluation and treatment of pain in newborns hospitalized at the Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit of a university hospital in the state of Minas Gerais, due to the relevance of the issue regarding the quality of the neonatal care. METHODS: A descriptive and exploratory qualitative research with 13 professionals from a Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview, and the data analysis was guided by the Content Thematic Analysis from January to June 2018. RESULTS: Four categories were elaborated: pain identification; methods for assessing pain; interventions of the nursing team to relieve pain, and nursing learnings in pain management. CONCLUSION: The knowledge of this team is based on the individual experience, showing the need for changes in the educational structures to reach better results and nursing practices based on scientific methods for quality assistance.

Neonatal Nurse and Midwife Competence Regarding Pain Management in Neonates

“…Of the 19 articles, 5 continents and 11 countries are represented in terms of geographical distribution. Of these, 6 were published in Brazil,20–22,24,35,41 3 from Egypt,26,27,36 2 from Iran,23,42 and one each from Jordan,43 Norway and Sweden,44 Canada,45 China,25 Rwanda,28 Poland,29 Lithuania,16 and Denmark30 (see Figure 2). None of the studies conducted in the United States, however, concentrated on “competence” among NICU nurses/midwives.…”

“…Of these, 14 articles were quantitative studies, including cross-sectional, quasi-experimental, one-group pre/posttest, survey, and program evaluation designs. The remaining 5 articles were qualitative descriptive studies, including field work, semistructured interview, and focus group studies 16,20–22,24…”

“…Nurse Competence Regarding Pain Management in Neonates remaining 5 articles were qualitative descriptive studies, including field work, semistructured interview, and focus group studies. 16,[20][21][22]24 The majority assessed nurses' and midwives' competence (n = 15) using self-reported questionnaires that were developed by the researchers. These typically consisted of multiple-choice, yes/no, or openended questions.…”

“…The concept of “competence” has a variety of meanings, but in nursing literature, competence is often defined as an ability to perform a professional function effectively, which requires integration in 4 pillars: knowledge, attitude, behaviors, and perceptions of competence 15,17–19. In terms of neonatal pain management in the included studies, it was found that nurses had knowledge deficits regarding neonatal pain pathology and exhibited poor performance in relation to pain assessment, measurement, and management 20–23. Several studies recommend that practical experience and further organizational, as well as educational, guidance/protocol, and training or mentoring resources are needed to ensure pain management principles are utilized in practice 22–30…”

“…Nurses' competence has been widely examined in several research designs,31–34 and gaps have been demonstrated between the concept of competence and the research methodology. There have been no studies that have investigated all elements of nurses' competence regarding pain management in the NICU setting, and most of the studies lacked internal and external validity, particularly selection and testing bias 20–22,24–27,35,36. There is a need to investigate and enhance the competence of nurses and midwives who care for critical neonates in the NICU.…”