Nurses’ Perspectives on Strategies for Parental Involvement in Newborn Pain Management
Published 2026-04-08
Keywords
- Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; Infant, Newborn; Pain Management; Patient Empowerment
How to Cite
Copyright (c) 2026 Fátima Prior, Ana Rita Pereira, Maria Helena Martins, Luísa Barros, Maria Alice Curado, Isabel Malheiro
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Abstract
Introduction
Newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) undergo several painful stimuli with their care and treatment, including painful maneuvers, daily. Nurses play a crucial role when applying pain management strategies. Parents, when properly prepared and guided, can effectively apply strategies to reduce newborns’ pain during painful procedures in the NICU, also lowering parental stress and fostering attachment between parents and infants.
This approach aligns with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) on Promoting Good Health and Well-Being (SDG-3) and Reducing Inequalities (SDG-10) through empowering families in their caregiving roles and helping to integrate newborns into family life, especially those born preterm or with chronic conditions.
Objective
To explore parents’ and expert NICU nurses’ perceptions regarding the strategies that enable parents to collaborate on their newborns’ pain management.
Methods
An exploratory, qualitative, and descriptive study was conducted using online focus group interviews to explore expert NICU nurses' perspectives on nurses’ strategies that involve parents in managing their newborns’ pain.
Results
The study sample was recruited from three Lisbon Metropolitan Region NICUs and consisted of 24 nurses, all NICU experts with over five years of professional experience.
Data analysis is still ongoing, and so far, identified nurses’ opinions regarding newborn pain and nursing strategies to promote parental involvement in newborn pain management are grouped into two categories and five subcategories.
Conclusion
The success of nursing interventions to empower parents in their newborn's pain management depends on factors related to parents, nurses, the organization, and the environment. Parental involvement in newborn pain management promotes Good Health and well-being by improving parental care and reducing their newborns' pain. It also Reduces Inequalities in promoting parent-newborn bonding for newborns who cannot remain in their family environment after birth due to a special clinical condition.