PO20 - Parental suggestions for developing pain management in neonatal intensive care units.

UNLABELLED Theme: Parenting/parenthood. BACKGROUND Neonates are likely to experience numerous painful procedures in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Parents have expressed a wish to be more involved in their infants' pain alleviation. AIMS The aim of this study was to describe parents' suggestions for the development of neonatal pain management in hospital. METHODS Informants were parents (n=140), whose children were in care in the NICUs of Finland. Data were collected through the questionnaires, and the open-ended data were analyzed using inductive content analysis. RESULTS Parents' suggestions for developing pain management consisted of six main categories: developing counselling, changing nursing practices, providing emotional support, considering parent-oriented practices, changing the attitude of the staff and increasing social support. DISCUSSION It is essential to provide sufficient counseling to parents related to their child's pain management. CONCLUSIONS Pain management practices need to change towards more family-centered care in the Finnish NICUs.