Knowledge and practices regarding postoperative neonatal pain assessment among healthcare professionals in Kinshasa: a multicenter cross-sectional survey.
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 2Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Necker -Enfants Malades University Hospital, AP-HP, Sorbonne University, Paris, France.
- 3Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Ngaliema Medical Center, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 4Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Hôpital Privé de Thiais, Thiais, France.
- 5Department of Internal Medicine and Nephrology, University of Kinshasa, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 6Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Monkole Hospital Center, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 7Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Robert Debré University Hospital, AP-HP, Paris, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Abstract
Background
Neonatal pain remains inconsistently assessed, particularly in resource-limited settings. We assessed healthcare professionals' knowledge and reported practices regarding postoperative neonatal pain assessment in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).Methods
We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional survey from August 2025 to May 2026 in ten hospitals with pediatric surgical activity. Healthcare professionals completed a 20-item questionnaire developed through expert content review and pretesting. The primary outcome was self-reported use of a standardized neonatal pain-assessment tool. A four-item knowledge score (0-4) was constructed, with ≥3 indicating high knowledge as a pragmatic study-specific threshold. Multivariable logistic regression used hospital-level cluster-robust standard errors.Results
Of 580 healthcare professionals approached, 536 returned the questionnaire; six were excluded because of >30% missing data, leaving 530 complete questionnaires for analysis. Although 86.8% recognized neonatal pain, only 10.0% reported using a standardized pain-assessment tool, and 15.3% reported postoperative pain assessment at regular intervals. Nearly all participants (99.8%) reported no dedicated neonatal pain training. The mean knowledge score was 2.16 ± 0.84, and 34.7% had high knowledge. Higher knowledge was independently associated with reported standardized tool use (adjusted OR 4.90, 95% CI 3.10-7.70; p < 0.001). In the prespecified sensitivity analysis using the reduced three-item knowledge score, the association remained significant but was attenuated (adjusted OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.23-3.03; p = 0.004).Conclusion
Reported use of standardized neonatal pain-assessment tools and regular postoperative pain assessment were low despite widespread recognition of neonatal pain. Higher knowledge was associated with reported tool use, although the association was attenuated after excluding scale recognition from the knowledge score. These findings highlight gaps in neonatal pain assessment and training, while the cross-sectional design precludes causal interpretation.
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BibTeX
@article{landu2026knowledge,
title = {{Knowledge and practices regarding postoperative neonatal pain assessment among healthcare professionals in Kinshasa: a multicenter cross-sectional survey.}},
author = {Eriksson Landu and Joseph Nsiala and Arriel Makembi Bunkete and Wilfrid Mbombo and Stéphane Mutombo and Patrick Mukuna and Carl Lemba and Christian Nantulu and Patricia Kabuni and Alphonse Mosolo and Jean-Pierre Ilunga and Benjamin Kabwe and Médard Bulabula and Berthe Barhayiga},
journal = {Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpain.2026.1968968},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909036},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Knowledge and practices regarding postoperative neonatal pain assessment among healthcare professionals in Kinshasa: a multicenter cross-sectional survey.
AU - Eriksson Landu
AU - Joseph Nsiala
AU - Arriel Makembi Bunkete
AU - Wilfrid Mbombo
AU - Stéphane Mutombo
AU - Patrick Mukuna
AU - Carl Lemba
AU - Christian Nantulu
AU - Patricia Kabuni
AU - Alphonse Mosolo
AU - Jean-Pierre Ilunga
AU - Benjamin Kabwe
AU - Médard Bulabula
AU - Berthe Barhayiga
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Frontiers in pain research (Lausanne, Switzerland)
DO - 10.3389/fpain.2026.1968968
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42909036
AB - Background Neonatal pain remains inconsistently assessed, particularly in resource-limited settings. We assessed healthcare professionals' knowledge and reported practices regarding postoperative neonatal pain assessment in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).Methods We conducted a multicenter cross-sectional survey from August 2025 to May 2026 in ten hospitals with pediatric surgical activity. Healthcare professionals completed a 20-item questionnaire developed through expert content review and pretesting. The primary outcome was self-reported use of a standardized neonatal pain-assessment tool. A four-item knowledge score (0-4) was constructed, with ≥3 indicating high knowledge as a pragmatic study-specific threshold. Multivariable logistic regression used hospital-level cluster-robust standard errors.Results Of 580 healthcare professionals approached, 536 returned the questionnaire; six were excluded because of >30% missing data, leaving 530 complete questionnaires for analysis. Although 86.8% recognized neonatal pain, only 10.0% reported using a standardized pain-assessment tool, and 15.3% reported postoperative pain assessment at regular intervals. Nearly all participants (99.8%) reported no dedicated neonatal pain training. The mean knowledge score was 2.16 ± 0.84, and 34.7% had high knowledge. Higher knowledge was independently associated with reported standardized tool use (adjusted OR 4.90, 95% CI 3.10-7.70; p < 0.001). In the prespecified sensitivity analysis using the reduced three-item knowledge score, the association remained significant but was attenuated (adjusted OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.23-3.03; p = 0.004).Conclusion Reported use of standardized neonatal pain-assessment tools and regular postoperative pain assessment were low despite widespread recognition of neonatal pain. Higher knowledge was associated with reported tool use, although the association was attenuated after excluding scale recognition from the knowledge score. These findings highlight gaps in neonatal pain assessment and training, while the cross-sectional design precludes causal interpretation.
SN - 2673-561X
ER -