title: Determination of methods used by the neonatal care unit nurses for management of procedural pain in Turkey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods used by neonatal intensive care unit nurses to reduce procedural pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  The cross-sectional study was conducted from September 2011 to June 2012 and comprised nurses employed in the paediatric departments, consisting of neonatal intensive care units and newborn units, of 15 hospitals in various cities of Turkey: 8 in Istanbul, 3 in Izmir and two each in Antalya and Edirne. Data was collected using a questionnaire and analysed using SPSS 15.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The mean age of the 486 nurses was 28.19±5.14 years; 316(65%) had bachelor's degrees; 278(57.2%) had nursing experience greater than 6 years; and 322(72.5%) had newborn nursing experience greater than 6 years. Overall, 364(74.9%) nurses used non-pharmacological methods, and 145(29.8%) used pharmacological methods for pain relief. The most commonly used non-pharmacological methods were skin touch 364(75%) and giving a pacifier 269(55.3%). The most commonly used pharmacological methods were paracetamol and ibuprofen by 145(29.8%) nurses. A statistically significant difference was found between the level of education and use of pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods for pain relief (p< 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among the nurses in both groups, very little pain management was used for invasive procedures. Educational programmes for pain management in newborns should be arranged to develop an institutional culture. Guidelines for these patients' pain management should also be established.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Health Nursing, Trakya University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Edirne, Turkey.
authors.forename: Melahat Akgun
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Kostak
authors.affiliation: Department of Midwifery, Istanbul University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkey.
authors.forename: Sevil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Inal
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey.
authors.forename: Emine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Efe
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, Ege University, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hatice Bal
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.affiliation: Nurse, RTS Diyaliz Merkezi, Izmir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Zeynep
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Senel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000009:adverse effects; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007363:Intensive Care Units, Neonatal; D015931:Intensive Care, Neonatal / Q000379:methods*; D060127:Kangaroo-Mother Care Method; D008297:Male; D017283:Neonatal Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D041361:Pacifiers; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D059408:Pain Management / Q000379:methods*; D014421:Turkey; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic
keywords: Procedural pain, Neonates, Pain management, Pharmacological methods, Non-pharmacological methods.