Interprofessional collaboration: improving the quality of pain management for neonates

In Finland, about 8% of all newborns require care in a neonatal intensive care unit after birth. The quality of pain management may significantly impact the newborn's development later in life.

In her doctoral dissertation, Master of Health Sciences Mariaana Mäki-Asiala examined healthcare professionals' assessments and parents' experiences of interprofessional collaboration in neonatal pain management. Additionally, she evaluated the applicability of a Swiss educational intervention to Finnish neonatal pain management. There is a scarcity of research on interprofessional collaboration in neonatal pain management, and no previous studies have assessed the feasibility of educational interventions in a new context.

In the first phase of the study, healthcare professionals assessed interprofessional collaboration as being at the level of "moving towards collaboration" using a Canadian tool for assessing interprofessional team collaboration (AITCS-FIN), which was scientifically translated for this study. Mäki-Asiala also interviewed parents from different parts of Finland whose infants had been treated in a neonatal intensive care unit. According to their experiences, interprofessional collaboration was characterized by an understanding of pain management within a partnership framework, including their own involvement and a sense of appreciation. Collaboration involved recognizing roles and feeling a sense of equality. Coordination emphasized the sharing of knowledge, skills, and expertise, as well as the experience of encouragement. In the second phase of the study, the Swiss educational intervention, evaluated by both healthcare professionals and parents of newborns, was found to be suitable for Finnish pain management, though its implementation was noted to require local adaptation.

The first phase of the study was conducted with healthcare professionals in four different university hospitals, involving all professional groups involved in neonatal care and planning in neonatal intensive care units. A total of 132 healthcare professionals from various professional groups participated in the study. Additionally, sixteen parents of newborns were interviewed about their experiences of partnership, collaboration, and coordination in neonatal pain management. In the second phase of the study, interprofessional focus groups from two different university hospitals evaluated the Swiss NEODOL educational intervention. The focus groups also included parents of newborns.

Based on the study, it can be concluded that perceptions of interprofessional collaboration in neonatal pain management vary, and the need for an intervention to improve the quality of pain management is recognized. The Swiss educational intervention is also feasible to the Finnish context of neonatal pain management. The foundation of interprofessional collaboration in neonatal pain management is knowledge of the context: understanding painful procedures, pain assessment, and various pain relief methods.