THE MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM'S PERCEPTION OF PAIN IN NEWBORNS IN AN INTENSIVE CARE UNIT: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

• DOI: hhttps://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.15941032406126

• Palavras-chave: Newborn; Health professionals; Pain; Intensive Care Units.

• Keywords: Newborn; Health professionals; Pain; Intensive Care Units.

• Abstract:

   Introduction: Until the 1980s, pain in newborns was neglected. Currently, it is known that although pain is an individual experience, its assessment in neonates presents challenges due to the inability to communicate verbally and the influence of factors such as the experience and training of the multidisciplinary team. Objective: To carry out a literature review on the multidisciplinary team's perception of pain in newborns in Neonatal Intensive Care Units. Methodology: This is an integrative review, with a search for articles indexed in the Medline/Pubmed, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences (Lillacs), Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) and Virtual Health Library (VHL) databases. The search was carried out in May 2024, using the descriptors: "Newborn", "Health personnel", Intensive Care Units, pain. The search strategy was based on their different combinations, using the Boolean operators AND and/or OR. The inclusion criteria were original articles in Portuguese, English and Spanish, published in the last 10 years. Paid-for studies, duplicate studies and studies such as letters to the editor, reviews, opinion articles, literature reviews, reflective studies, editorials and duplicate studies were excluded. Results: The multidisciplinary team's perception is based on signs such as facial expressions, crying and changes in vital signs, mainly heart rate and respiratory rate. There was a lack of standardization in pain assessment, a lack of institutional protocols and gaps in professional training. Conclusion: Pain management is crucial to minimizing negative impacts, highlighting the need for continuous staff training and evidence-based practices. The implementation of institutional protocols and specific tools can standardize care, reduce neonatal stress and promote better clinical outcomes.