Assessment and Management of Pain in Neonates

What you'll learn

Course overview

Discussion of assessment and management of pain in neonates, including factors that may contribute to pain in neonates, how to appropriately assess pain, various neonatal pain assessment tools, nursing comfort measures relevant to neonatal pain management, and non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic pain management in neonates. Pain management in the neonatal population is challenging due to the inability of neonates to verbalize when they are experiencing pain. Neonates are often subjected to painful procedures, with premature infants frequently experiencing the highest numbers of painful events. Despite recommendations from experts regarding neonatal pain management, neonatal pain continues to be inconsistently assessed and managed in clinical settings. Pain prevention and management in neonates is crucial as research has shown that exposure to repeated painful stimuli in early life has both short- and long-term adverse consequences such as physiologic instability, altered brain development, and abnormal stress response. Nurses caring for this population must be aware of how to appropriately assess pain in neonates, as well as techniques to utilize to effectively minimize and manage pain. This program discusses factors that may contribute to pain in neonates, how to appropriately assess pain in neonates including pain assessment tools, nursing comfort measures relevant to neonatal pain management, and non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic pain management options for neonates.