Validação de protocolo para gerenciamento da dor no cuidado intensivo neonatal

Abstract

For many years, it was believed that the newborn was incapable of feeling pain, due to the immaturity of the nervous system and pain having subjective signs. However, advances in research focused on care in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit have contributed to the production of evidence on neonatal pain and its consequences. Pain assessment is broad and needs to be systematized by the health team and must be ensured in the provision of care to newborns, either through pharmacological measures or not. In this care setting, the use of protocols for managing neonatal pain enables a systematic assessment and management of adverse events, expanding the qualification of care. In this sense, the present study seeks to validate the proposed pain and stress management protocol for newborns hospitalized in a neonatal intensive care unit. This study is methodological, descriptive and with a quantitative approach, carried out from March to October 2022. Nine professionals with expertise and experience in the neonatal area participated in the validation. As a product, this protocol needs some adjustments to become valid successfully. Furthermore, it is essential to carry out new studies with a larger sample for representativeness and generalization power. The limitations of the study were the unavailability of some judges, thus reducing the sample size, as well as the long period for the return of duly completed and evaluated protocols.