Understanding Neonatal Pain (1)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
No Words for Pain: Lived Experiences of Neonatal Pain Through the Eyes of Parents and Healthcare Professionals. A Multi-Perspectival Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis
IRAS ID
360251
Contact name
Alan Bowman
Contact email
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 2 days
Research summary
Recently, there has been an increased awareness of the long-term developmental and psychological impacts that exposure to pain during routine procedures in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) can have on infants. To help reduce negative outcomes for infants, non-pharmacological approaches such as facilitated tucking and nutritive sucking have been implemented in neonatal units. The present study aims to explore how parents and neonatal healthcare professionals make sense of neonatal pain, and painful procedures within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), and to understand the emotional and relational meanings they attach to these experiences. The research questions are:
How do parents and neonatal healthcare professionals make sense of neonatal pain and painful procedures, and what meanings do they attach to these experiences in the NICU?Secondary Research Question: How, if at all, do elements of Family Integrated Care shape or influence parents’ and professionals’ experiences and understandings of neonatal pain?
This study will adopt a qualitative design and participants will be recruited from the Neonatal Unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle Upon Tyne. Semi-structured interviews will be carried out with healthcare professionals currently working on the unit, as well as with parents whose infants are either currently receiving care or have received care within the past year. Interviews would be expected to last between 45-60 minutes and will be conducted at a time suited to them.
To analyse data, a Multi-Perspective Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (M-IPA) approach will be adopted. Adopting this method will allow researchers to acknowledge perspectives from both healthcare professionals and parents, allowing for convergences and divergence to be explored across different perspectives. There will be 8 stages involved in the data analysis process, as highlighted by Smith, Flowers and Larkin (2021).
REC name
London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
26/LO/0411
Date of REC Opinion
18 Jun 2026
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion