Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33034802›Full record

ArticleMedicine, health care, and philosophy2021

Neonates as intrinsically worthy recipients of pain management in neonatal intensive care.

Emre Ilhan, Verity Pacey, Laura Brown, Kaye Spence, Kelly Gray, Jennifer E Rowland, Karolyn White, Julia M Hush

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Medicine, health care, and philosophy, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Vulnerability and Pediatric Pain.Paediatric & neonatal pain · 2026
    Article
  3. Validation and reliability of a scale for prolonged pain assessment in Brazilian neonates.Journal of perinatology : official journal of the California Perinatal Association · 2026
    Article
  4. Neonatal Pain Management: Is There An Endocrinal Response?Endocrine, metabolic & immune disorders drug targets · 2025
    Review
  5. Review
  6. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Emre IlhanFaculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Department of Health Professions, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia. emre.ilhan@mq.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4075-0733
Verity PaceyFaculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Department of Health Professions, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Laura BrownFaculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Department of Health Professions, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Kaye SpenceChildren's Hospital at Westmead, Grace Centre for Newborn Intensive Care, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Kelly GrayFaculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Department of Health Professions, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Jennifer E RowlandFaculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Department of Health Professions, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Karolyn WhiteResearch Ethics and Integrity, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Julia M HushFaculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Department of Health Professions, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Macquarie University · AUChildren's Hospital at Westmead · AU

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

One barrier to optimal pain management in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is how the healthcare community perceives, and therefore manages, neonatal pain. In this paper, we emphasise that healthcare professionals not only have a professional obligation to care for neonates in the NICU, but that these patients are intrinsically worthy of care. We discuss the conditions that make neonates worthy recipients of pain management by highlighting how neonates are (1) vulnerable to pain and harm, and (2) completely dependent on others for pain management. We argue for a relational account of ethical decision-making in the NICU by demonstrating how an increase in vulnerability and dependence may be experienced by the healthcare community and the neonate's family. Finally, an ethical framework for decisions around neonatal pain management is proposed, focussing on surrogate decision-making and the importance of compassionate action through both a reflective and an affective empathy. As empathy can be highly motivating against pain, we propose that, in addition to educational programs that raise awareness and knowledge of neonatal pain and pain management, healthcare professionals must cultivate empathy in a collective manner, where all members of the NICU team, including parents, are compassionate decision-makers.

Indexed as

Intensive Care, NeonatalPain ManagementHumansInfant, NewbornIntensive Care Units, NeonatalPainParentsEmpathyNeonatal intensive carePain managementRelational ethicsSurrogate decision-making

Identifiers

PMID33034802
OpenAlexW3092150091

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.