NICU Nurses’perceptions regarding parental involvement in infant pain management

• Nurses play a key but varied role in enabling (or impeding) parents’ access to information and support needed for parental participation, influenced by individual, institutional and regional factors. We know very little about parental involvement from the perspective of nurses. The aim of this study was to explore views of nurses in 3 countries regarding the role of parents in infant pain management.Methods: A qualitative semi-structured interview study involving NICU nurses was conducted in Finland (n=47), Sweden (n=14), and the US (n=26). The interviews were analyzed with a deductive framework of a range of potential parent roles in infant pain management: none, being informed, being present, providing comfort, an informant for NICU staff, an active decision maker, or advocate for infant (Franck et al. 2012).Results: In all three countries, the nurses described two common parental roles: being informed and providing comfort. Parents were rarely described as informants, active decision makers, or advocates in relation to infant pain management. A new role of ‘parent as assistant’ emerged as some nurses described how parents provided infant comfort while the nurses concentrated on the technical performance of the painful procedure. Interviews also revealed that parents were sometimes actively excluded from infant pain management because their presence made nurses anxious when performing painful procedures. In the Finnish and Swedish samples, collaborative relations with parents were    emphasized. The Swedish nurses highlighted the mutual dialogue between nurses and parents. In the US sample, some nurses reported that an active parent role in pain management was not necessary or desirable, since they considered good pain management to be the responsibility of nurses.Discussion and Conclusion: Nurses’ support for parental involvement in infant pain management varies considerably. In some cases, they actively oppose or prevent parental involvement. In other instances, they facilitate parental involvement and encourage partnerships in all aspects of pain management. The transition to a more family-centered approach to infant pain management requires further examination of areas of alignment and dissonance between nurses and parents’ values, needs, perceptions and roles in caring for infants at high risk for pain.Franck LS, Oulton K, Bruce E. Parental involvement in neonatal pain management: an empirical and conceptual update. J Nurs Scholarsh, 2012;44(1):45-54.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Newborn

Pain

Caring sciences

Omvårdnadsvetenskap

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)