Neonatal Nursing Research

Research Overview

Babies requiring intensive care often undergo frequent painful procedures during their stay. The long term impact of exposure to such painful stimuli on a baby's health and wellbeing is not known. Our team investigates ways of measuring the degree of pain babies experience and the best pharmacological and non-pharmacological ways of managing that pain. The neonatal intensive care experience can impact on both the baby and their family. Our team is also investigating the stressors placed on babies and their families at this time and the impact on breastfeeding sustainability and infant growth and development after discharge from hospital.

The Neonatal Nursing Research team aims to explore the impact of the neonatal intensive care environment on an infant's long term health and wellbeing and that of their family. A program of research is testing the objective measurement of pain in the clinical setting, using multicomponent pain assessment tools and specially designed skin conductance equipment.

The use of oral sucrose as a non-pharmacological approach to procedural pain management is also being studied in those babies requiring prolonged hospitalisation with multiple exposures to noxious stimuli. Many babies require complex surgical interventions during their hospitalisation. Little is known about the impact surgery has on an infants neurodevelopment, their feeding behaviour, and ultimately their ability to form attachments with their parents. Using a longitudinal cohort study approach, we are working with colleagues at the Children's Hospital at Westmead and Toronto Sick Kids to study the outcomes of surgical infants. The results of these studies will lead to better pain management practices in neonatal units and a greater understanding of the role of early intervention in assisting these families to lead healthy lives.