Evaluating the understanding of nurses regarding pain management in neonatal units and special neonatal units of Qamar Monir Bani Haeshem Hospital in Khoy, Iran, in 2016

Pain is a mental and multi‑dimension phenomena, which its measurement and definition are
difficult. Inability in expressing the pain clearly is the fundamental reason for the difficulty in pain measuring.
Since newborns are unable to express their pains, to evaluate their pain quantitatively, valid, and standard
tools should be used. The present study aimed to investigate the understanding of nurses about babies’ pain
in neonatal and special neonatal units of hospitals in Khoy. Materials and Methods: This is a descriptive and
analytical cross-sectional study which was performed on 66 people by census method on nurses working
in neonatal units and special neonatal units of Qamar Monir Bani Haeshem Hospital. Tool for collecting data
includes 5 parts questionnaires containing demographic information, 7 questions related to understanding
the pain of babies, 10 questions related to the effects of pain, 9 questions related to the tools of measuring the
pain with criterion (true, false, I do not know), and the final part with 28 questions related to the attitude of
measuring the pain in infants (I agree, I disagree). To determine the validity of the tool content validity was
used and to determine the reliability Cronbach’s alpha correlation test and preliminary study were performed
(α = 0.82, α = 0.86). After coding, the data were described in frequency, mean, and standard deviation table using
SPSS Version 16 software. To analyze the data statistical tests such as Pearson’s correlation, t-test, and ANOVA
were used (P < 0.05).  Results: The majority of the participants were married (97%) with Bachelor education
degree (95%) working in neonatal unit (45.5%) with a mean age of 33 years and servicing year of 8 years. The
awareness rate of the physiology of pain, with the highest prevalence of 42.2%, complications and pain intensity
by 45.5% were at good levels, and tools for measuring pain with 54.6% were poor. Nurses’ attitude toward
assessing and measuring the pain of babies with 54.5% was positive. Investigating the statistical relationships
between the attitudes of nurses and awareness of severity and complications of pain (P ≤ 0.001), between the age
and awareness of severity and complications of pain (P ≤ 0.002), and between the servicing year and awareness
of pain physiology, severity, and complications of pain (P ≤ 0.003), significant statistical difference was found.
Discussion and Conclusion: Based the results, focusing on pain of the babies and the infants in nursing education
programs, holding the continuing education courses regarding the pain and pain assessment, and attaching pain
assessment checklist for monitoring vital signs checklist and reporting it in each shift are recommended.