PO20 – Parental suggestions for developing pain management in neonatal intensive care units

Abstract

Unlabelled: Theme: Parenting/parenthood.Background: Neonates are likely to experience numerous painful procedures in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Parents have expressed a wish to be more involved in their infants' pain alleviation.Aims: The aim of this study was to describe parents' suggestions for the development of neonatal pain management in hospital.Methods: Informants were parents (n=140), whose children were in care in the NICUs of Finland. Data were collected through the questionnaires, and the open-ended data were analyzed using inductive content analysis.Results: Parents' suggestions for developing pain management consisted of six main categories: developing counselling, changing nursing practices, providing emotional support, considering parent-oriented practices, changing the attitude of the staff and increasing social support.Discussion: It is essential to provide sufficient counseling to parents related to their child's pain management.Conclusions: Pain management practices need to change towards more family-centered care in the Finnish NICUs.