Date of Award

Spring 2023

Degree Name

Master of Medical Science (Physician Assistant)

Department

Physician Assistant; College of Health Sciences

First Advisor

Diana Hawthorne

Abstract

Neonatal pain, especially in settings outside of the NICU or newborn nursery, is often under-recognized or even unnoticed altogether. Many providers and parents do not know how to recognize when a neonate is in pain and many do not know how to minimize or alleviate this pain effectively. Even when providers know how to assess pain in neonates, they typically assess for acute pain in the presence of chronic pain, or vice-versa. Untreated pain in neonates harms brain development and can lead to behavior defects later in life for these babies. Due to these outcomes, the recognition and effective treatment of neonatal pain is crucial to healthy development. A more universal protocol to recognize and treat neonatal pain in different circumstances is necessary and should be easily accessible to all providers even outside of the NICU or newborn nursery.

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Poster Presentation:

https://arcadia.zoom.us/rec/share/wHEt7Ru-ClY4CSXKEdB1hCuN7z-zmcr_0q5VXTVpcYfYgPdQEIH2jQ5keW6V0jvX.wjjhQSnp44AXey8Q Passcode: w2YAp0

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Managing Neonatal Pain: A Guideline for Non-neonatal Providers

Neonatal pain, especially in settings outside of the NICU or newborn nursery, is often under-recognized or even unnoticed altogether. Many providers and parents do not know how to recognize when a neonate is in pain and many do not know how to minimize or alleviate this pain effectively. Even when providers know how to assess pain in neonates, they typically assess for acute pain in the presence of chronic pain, or vice-versa. Untreated pain in neonates harms brain development and can lead to behavior defects later in life for these babies. Due to these outcomes, the recognition and effective treatment of neonatal pain is crucial to healthy development. A more universal protocol to recognize and treat neonatal pain in different circumstances is necessary and should be easily accessible to all providers even outside of the NICU or newborn nursery.