Knowledge and Attitudes of Midwifery Students About Newborn Pain Management

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the neonatal pain management knowledge and attitudes of midwife candidates. The sample of the research in the descriptive design consisted of 278 students studying in the midwifery department of a public university and volunteering to participate in the research (Participation rate: 84%). Data were collected with the “Descriptive Information Form” and the Neonatal Pain Management Information Form. Descriptive statistics, Mann Whitney U, and Kruskal Wallis tests were used to evaluate the data. It was determined that the mean age of the students participating in the study was 20.46±1.78, and 82.4% of them willingly preferred the department. While 29.5% of the participants stated that they had knowledge about pain assessment scales, 82.4% stated that they did not consider themselves sufficient in pain control in newborns. Midwife candidates stated that they mostly preferred breastfeeding (70.5%), reducing environmental stimuli (68%), listening to music and compassionate approach (64.4%) among non-pharmacological approaches in neonatal pain control. While it was determined that students' knowledge levels were significantly affected by grade level and neonatal health lesson and having knowledge about neonatal pain scales, it was determined that the variable of willingly choosing midwifery department and the graduated high school  did not affect it significantly. It was determined that midwifery students had a lack of knowledge about pain management in newborns. It is recommended that midwife candidates be supported on pharmacological and non-pharmacological pain management in newborns with both pre- and post-graduate trainings and that the trainings should be updated regularly according to the pain guidelines.