When a baby undergoes surgery, managing their pain is a critical part of care. A survey of 530 healthcare professionals in a hospital in the Democratic Republic of the Congo looked at how staff handle neonatal pain. While the vast majority of these professionals (86.8%) recognized that newborns experience pain, the actual tools used to measure that pain were rarely used.
Only 10% of the staff reported using a standardized tool to assess pain, and only about 15% checked for pain at regular intervals. The study also found a significant gap in education, as nearly 100% of the staff reported having no specific training on neonatal pain.
However, there was a clear link between education and practice. Staff with higher knowledge scores were much more likely to use a standardized tool to assess pain. Because this was a survey of self-reported data rather than a clinical trial, these findings highlight a specific need for better training and tools in these settings.
