Pain Management in Neonates: Nurses’ Perspectives at a Faith-Based Hospital in Ghana

Neonates, including preterm infants, experience pain that may be more intense than that experienced by older children and adults, yet pain arising from routine and invasive procedures in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is frequently under-recognised and inadequately managed. This study explored the perspectives of nurses regarding the factors that influence pain management in neonates at St. Anthony’s Hospital, Dzodze, in the Volta Region of Ghana. A qualitative exploratory design was employed using a semi-structured interview guide. A purposive sampling technique was used to select eleven nurses working in the NICU; data saturation was confirmed at the eleventh participant. Qualitative content analysis, supported by NVivo 12, was used to generate themes, categories and sub-categories from the interview transcripts. The findings showed that nurses had limited knowledge of standardised pain-assessment scales and of pharmacological and non-pharmacological methods of neonatal pain management, although the majority agreed that neonates are capable of experiencing pain and that managing this pain is important. Continuous professional development and personal motivation were identified as facilitators of effective pain management, while inadequate knowledge, the absence of institutional protocols and policies, staff shortages, heavy workload, and a lack of logistics for pharmacological management were identified as the principal barriers. The study concludes that pain management in neonates should be made an institutional priority at St. Anthony’s Hospital through targeted training, the development of clinically feasible assessment tools and protocols, and improved staffing and supervision.