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Enhancing first-time parents' self-efficacy: A systematic review and meta-analysis of universal parent education
Nur Arina Liyana Amin1, Wilson W S Tam2, Shefaly Shorey2
1Changi General Hospital, 2 Simei Street 3, Singapore 529889, Singapore.
Background:
Poor adjustment during early parenthood often leads to low feelings of parental self-efficacy, which influences parents' behaviours towards their infants. The long-term consequences on infant development warrant the need for more attention on the efficacy of universal parent education interventions to empower parents and enhance their self-efficacy.
Objectives:
To synthesise available evidence and explore the efficacy of universal parent education interventions on the parental self-efficacy of first-time parents.
Design:
A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials.
Data Sources:
A literature search of 10 databases was conducted to identify randomised controlled trials from each database's point of inception to November 2016.
Methods:
Based on the inclusion criteria, 24,062 articles were screened for their titles and abstracts. Two hundred and eighty articles were identified for full-text screening. Risks of bias posed by the selected articles were assessed using Cochrane's Risk of Bias instrument. Meta-analyses were conducted using RevMan 5.3. The overall intervention effect was evaluated using z tests at p < 0.05, while I2 and Cochran Q tests were used to measure heterogeneity.
Results:
Ten randomised controlled trials were selected; eight trials were combined in meta-analyses and two trials were synthesised narratively. A meta-analysis revealed that universal parent education interventions significantly enhanced parental self-efficacy (p < 0.001) among first-time parents and these effects were also maintained over time (p < 0.001). The extent of improvement in parental self-efficacy was affected by the duration of the interventions.
Conclusion:
This review provides sufficient evidence to support the use of universal interventions to enhance new parents' self-efficacy. While intervention effects were sustained at the two-month follow-up, further research using randomised controlled trials and longitudinal studies are needed to determine long-term effects. The findings serve as an impetus for hospitals and healthcare professionals to integrate universal interventions in perinatal care to guide first-time parents' transition into parenthood.