KNOWLEDGE AND PRACTICES IN NEONATAL PAIN AMONG BRAZILIAN PEDIATRICIANS

• Grant number: 24/15109-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Medicine - Maternal and Child Health
• Principal Investigator: Cristina Ortiz Sobrinho Valete
• Grantee: Pedro Henrique Teixeira Bottaro
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Introduction: The management of pain in neonates is a fundamental aspect of pediatric care. The previous belief that newborns were unable to process painful stimuli has been disproven; exposure to painful procedures has been shown to have short- and long-term consequences for the child. It is therefore crucial to recognize this to ensure that practices value the assessment and treatment of pain. Furthermore, it is essential to analyze these practices and their relationship with factors that can modify them, such as the knowledge and characteristics of professionals. Objective: To examine the neonatal pain practices reported by pediatricians and the associated factors. The initial hypothesis is that pediatricians with greater knowledge of pain will demonstrate superior practices. Methods: This is a survey study with online data collection from pediatricians associated with the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics. A questionnaire will be applied to ascertain the professionals' characteristics, knowledge, and practices regarding neonatal pain. The outcome will be neonatal pain practices, which will be considered to be of a good standard if the value is higher than the median value, based on the responses given on a Likert scale. The differences between proportions will be calculated using the chi-square test, and the differences between medians will be calculated using the Mann-Whitney test. The correlation between pain knowledge and practices will be analyzed using Spearman's correlation coefficient. The level of statistical significance will be a p < 0.05. Expected results: We expect to contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of neonatal pain practices and associated factors, identifying opportunities for quality-of-care improvement.