Naomi Albert
Gailee Medical centre, Israel
Title: The Effect of Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions on Infants' Pain
Biography
Biography: Naomi Albert
Abstract
Background: To test for both hereditary and metabolic diseases, nurses routinely draw blood from an infant's heel within 36-72 hours after birth. Since there is no obligatory protocol for pain prevention, we wanted to raise awareness of infant pain and suggest effective non-pharmaceutical analgesia. Methods: This cross-sectional study included infants born at Galilee Medical Center during 2012-2013. 150 infants were divided into three groups of 50 each: one received a pacifier dipped in sugar and no parental presence, one was hugged by a parent, and a control group had no intervention and no parental presence. A nurse trained to assess pain using the FLACC scale.
Results: Two minutes before needle prick, no pain was observed in any of the three groups. During the test, a statistically significant difference in pain level was seen (p<0.001), between group 1 (pacifier dipped in sugar) (median=2) and the other two groups both of which exhibited moderate pain (median=6 and median=5, respectively). Two minutes later there was no statistically significant difference in pain level among the three groups.
Conclusions: Pain-preventing intervention was found effective. Adopting non-pharmaceutical interventions for minimizing pain in healthy infants during clinical practice should be an integral part of providing quality treatment