Reducing Parental Concern for Vaccine-Associated Pain in Infants

Vaccines are the most common source of iatrogenic pain in infants and studies have shown that parental concern for this pain contributes to vaccine hesitancy. Addressing these concerns can encourage parents to consent to infant immunization. The purpose of this evidence-based practice project was to perform non-pharmacological pain relief methods for infants up to six months old and assess the effect on parental concerns for vaccine-associated pain. For this, a pre- and post- method design was performed over eight weeks. A statistically significant reduction in the level of parental concern for infant pain from pre- to post- implementation was observed. Thus, nurses can effectively use non-pharmacological methods of pain management for infants undergoing routine vaccination while reducing parents’ concern for vaccine-associated pain. Future recommendations to provide similar EBP initiatives for vaccine pain relief to a wider range of pediatric patients have been formulated