Pain in Premature Newborns: Nursing Care for Detection and Relief

CUIDADOS DE ENFERMAGEM PARA A DETECÇÃO E ALÍVIO

Abstract

The database used for the research was the Virtual Health Library (VHL) using the Health Science Descriptors (DECs): “pain”, “neonatal intensive care unit” and “neonatal nursing”, resulting in a 32 publications between in 2014 and 2019 where 11 publications were selected to compose the theoretical synthesis. The analysis of literary sources allowed grouping the ideas into two thematic categories being: “Most commonly used pain relief measures by nursing professionals”, “Unpreparedness of the nursing professional in the evaluation and treatment of pain”. For nursing care to be exercised efficiently and resolutely, constant training and improvement is required for assessment and decision making in order to provide safety and comfort to the newborn. It is noteworthy that the Health Institutions should commit to the qualification of these professionals, promoting continuous and permanent training and enabling nurses to seek updated training, as well as offering subsidies and instruments for the execution of their practices, such as materials, equipment and protocols for pain assessment and relief.