Accessibility Skip to:
  • Accessibility Policy
  • Main Content
  • Main Menu
  • Contact

  • -A: Font Smaller
  • +A: Font Larger
  • Reset Font
  • High Contrast
  • Low Contrast
  • Reset Contrast
History:
You are here:
  • Grand Challenges Canada
  • >
  • Innovations
  • >
  • 0347-03
  • Français
  • Get to Know Us
    • Who We Are
    • Co-CEOs
    • Governance
    • Accountability
    • The Team
    • Partnerships
    • Career Opportunities
    • Service Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Learn What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Global Health
    • Humanitarian
    • Indigenous
    • Transition To Scale
    • Innovative Financing
    • Innovations & Results
    • Annual Report
  • Apply for Funding
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Innovator Resources
    • Gender Equality Portal
  • Get Informed
    • News and Media
    • Blog
    • Publications
    • Subscribe
    • Photos and Videos
Grand Challenges Canada

Bold Ideas with Big Impact®

Browse our Innovations and Results
  • Get to Know Us
    • Who We Are
    • Co-CEOs
    • Governance
    • Accountability
    • The Team
    • Partnerships
    • Career Opportunities
    • Service Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Learn What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Global Health
    • Humanitarian
    • Indigenous
    • Transition To Scale
    • Innovative Financing
    • Innovations & Results
    • Annual Report
  • Apply for Funding
    • Funding Opportunities
    • Innovator Resources
    • Gender Equality Portal
  • Get Informed
    • News and Media
    • Blog
    • Publications
    • Subscribe
    • Photos and Videos
  • Accessibility
  • Contact
  • Français

Home » Innovations » 0347-03

A Toolkit to Minimize Pain in Infants

FacebookTwitterLinked In

Start Date: 30/09/2013- End Date: 30/09/2015


Project Lead(s): Bonnie Stevens, Isaac Odame

Working in Ghana, this project will introduce ways of alleviating pain for infants born prematurely and treated in special neonatal intensive care units (NICU)s -- the tiniest of kids who experience moderate to severe pain several times daily due to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures such as blood sample collections and medicine injections.

Project leader Dr. Bonnie Stevens of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children says the severity of brain defects found later among children born preterm can be linked to the number of painful procedures experienced in the NICU.

“Higher volumes of painful procedures with inadequately managed pain have also been associated with cognitive, language and motor problems, and low academic achievement,” says Dr. Stevens. “Although the consequences of pain are known, procedural pain is frequently under-managed and under-prioritized.”

Worldwide, about 13 million infants are born preterm each year -- a number growing steadily thanks to modern technologies. And even in North America, Europe and Australia, surveys show “neonates” are exposed to an average of 4 to 14 painful procedures daily, with only about 1 in 3 receiving pain relief.

Less is known about neonatal pain management in low- and middle-income countries, where the incidence of neonatal sickness and death is highest. However, a survey in Kenya showed that infants in seven special care newborn nurseries experienced, on average, four painful procedures daily, half of them injections and blood sample withdrawals. No form of analgesia was documented.

The project will introduce Ghanaian caregivers and parents to an integrated “Toolkit for Minimizing the Impact of Pain in Infants,” adapted from successful practices in Canada. Videos and other educational materials will detail simple, universally affordable, proven ways to mitigate procedural pain for an infant, such as: sweet solutions (e.g., sucrose or glucose) administered orally prior to a painful procedure; Kangaroo care, where infants are held in skin-to-skin contact with a parent; facilitated tucking, where infants are held in a fetal-like position to provide support and boundaries; breastfeeding.

Combined, these interventions have a demonstrated cumulative pain-relieving effect.

“Inadequate resources are cited as the major impediment to pain management in infants as well as a lack of knowledge, severe staff shortages and formal training about pain. The proposed Toolkit intervention will address these issues,” says Dr. Stevens.

The project draws on existing partnerships between the University of Ghana School of Nursing, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra and Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, together training 1,000 pediatric nurses in Ghana over the next 10-15 years, supported by a Canadian government grant. Plans calls for the toolkit’s integration into the curriculum at the School of Nursing (where there is limited pain content) and its use scaled up to reach additional countries.

Says Dr. Stevens: “Decreasing the intensity of painful procedures in hospitalized infants using simple, inexpensive, evidence-based strategies has the potential to minimize both immediate stress and suffering, and the known longer-term impact of pain on the developing neonatal brain and cognitive deficits.”

Stay in touch with this innovator

  • Organization Website
  • Network Website
  • Innovation Overview
    Program

    Saving Brains

    Institution

    Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)

    Institution Country

    Canada

    Implementation Country

    Ghana

    Implementation Region

    Sub-Saharan Africa

    Priority

    Breastfeeding, Creating Nurturing Environments for Child Development, Food and Nutrition, Newborn Conditions, Other

    Platform

    Behaviour Change Communication, Health Provider training

Grand Challenges Canada’s programs are primarily undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through Global Affairs Canada.

Government of Canada
  • Fluxx Technical Support
  • Privacy Policy
  • Website Legal Terms and Disclaimer
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and activity on our website. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may click on "Cookie Settings" to select the cookies applicable to your activity and disable those that do not. Please note that you will not be able to disable all cookies as some are necessary for the functioning of the website.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT