Increasing nurse's knowledge of neonatal pain assessment through inservice education program

Recognizing neonatal pain is a challenge for nurses working with newborns due to the complexity of the pain phenomenon. Pain is subjective, and infants lack the ability to communicate, and their pain is difficult to recognize. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of education on the NICU nurses' ability to assess neonatal pain. With a better understanding of pain theory and the effects of pain on the newborn the nurse will be better able to assess newborns with pain. Designed as a quasi-experimental one-group pretest and posttest study, the data was collected on a convenience sample of 49 registered nurses employed in the neonatal and special care nursery units at a Childrens Hospital in the Miami area. The nurses were surveyed on the assessment of neonatal pain using the General Information and Pain Sensitivity Questionnaire. After the initial survey, the nurses were inserviced on neonatal pain assessment using a one hour inservice education program. One week after the intervention the nurse was asked to complete the questionnaire again. Data analysis involved comparision of pre and post intervention findings using descriptive methods, t test, correlation coefficients, and ANOVA , where applicable. Findings revealed a significant ( p=.006) increase in nurse's knowledge of neonatal pain assessment after completing the educational inservice when comparing the pre-test and post-test results.

The role of group activity participation in depression among institutionalized elderly

The role of group activity participation in depression among a group of residents (N=65), age 80 and older, in a nursing home was examined using the framework of Roy's Adaptation Theory and Nolen-Hoeksema's Response Style Theory of Depression. Roy views depression as a maladaptation. Nolen-Hoeksema views group activity participation as a therapeutic distraction to break depressed moods and thus allow for positive adaptation. This study utilized data from medical records, group activity attendance, and self-report questionnaires. Demographic distributions were computed and correlational statistics were performed between subjects' participation and their degree of depression, pain experience, functional status, presence of social support, and perception of benefits. Results show a negative correlation between frequency of participation and Geriatric Depression Scale score (GDS). The wide range of measured frequencies among low GDS-scored subjects suggests that less depressed individuals exercise more freedom of choice to participate than those who are more depressed. Significant finding show a positive correlation of group activity participation with functional status in terms of ambulation. Data shows that the experience of pain was not a significant deterrent to participation. The presence of social support from the staff and family did not increase participation. However there is a lesser GDS score among subjects who had recent family/friends visit suggesting a positive role of family in decreasing depression. These results are significant not only for optimizing group therapeutic effects but also for understanding basic human and environmental correlates of depression. Study limitations are pointed out and recommendations are presented.