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Premature Infant Pain Profile: development and initial validation
B Stevens1, C Johnston, P Petryshen
1University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Insights
A new tool, the Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP), was developed to assess pain in premature infants. This validated measure aims to improve pain management for vulnerable newborns in clinical and research settings.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Pain assessment
- Pediatric research
Background:
- Pain assessment in premature infants is challenging.
- Existing methods may not adequately capture infant pain.
- Improved tools are needed for clinical and research applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a novel measure for assessing pain in premature infants.
- To create a tool suitable for use by clinicians and researchers.
- To address the persistent problem of inadequate pain assessment in this population.
Main Methods:
- The Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) was developed using a mixed prospective and retrospective design.
- Pain indicators were identified from clinical experts and literature review.
- The measure was validated using data from infants of varying gestational ages across different settings and procedures.
Main Results:
- The PIPP was developed using a dataset of 124 infants, focusing on factor structure, indicator development, and internal consistency.
- Beginning construct validity was established using three additional datasets.
- The PIPP demonstrated initial content and construct validity.
Conclusions:
- The Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) is a newly developed, validated tool for assessing pain in premature infants.
- The measure shows initial content and construct validity.
- Future research will evaluate the PIPP's practicality and feasibility in clinical settings.
Objective:
Inadequate assessment of pain in premature infants is a persistent clinical problem. The objective of this research was to develop and validate a measure for assessing pain in premature infants that could be used by both clinicians and researchers.
Design:
The Premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) was developed and validated using a prospective and retrospective design. Indicators of pain were identified from clinical experts and the literature. Indicators were retrospectively tested using four existing data sets.
Patients And Settings:
Infants of varying gestational ages undergoing different painful procedures from three different settings were utilized to develop and validate the measure.
Methods And Results:
The largest data set (n = 124) was used to develop the PIPP. The development process included determining the factor structure of the data, developing indicators and indicator scales and establishing internal consistency. The remaining three data sets were utilized to establish beginning construct validity.
Conclusions:
The PIPP is a newly developed pain assessment measure for premature infants with beginning content and construct validity. The practicality and feasibility for using the PIPP in clinical practice will be determined in prospective research in the clinical setting.
