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The impact of an individualised neonatal parent support programme on parental stress: a quasi-experimental study
Catrin Månsson1,2, Bengt Sivberg1, Bo Selander3
1Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
Insights
A neonatal parent support program reduced specific stressors for mothers with premature infants. However, the intervention did not significantly lower overall parental stress levels in the NICU.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Parental mental health
- Nursing interventions
Background:
- Parental stress is a significant concern for families with infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs).
- Individualized support programs may help mitigate these stressors.
- Understanding the specific sources of stress is crucial for developing effective interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness of an individualized neonatal parent support program on parental stress.
- To identify specific areas of stress reduction for parents of preterm infants.
Main Methods:
- A quasi-experimental design was employed with control (n=130) and intervention (n=101) groups of parents with preterm infants.
- The intervention involved four individual nurse-parent dialogues focused on person-centered communication.
- Parental stress was measured using the Swedish version of the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Main Results:
- No significant difference in total stress scores between control and intervention groups for mothers or fathers.
- Mothers in the intervention group reported significantly less distress on specific items, including infant breathing, ability to hold the baby, and fear of touching.
- Mothers consistently reported higher overall stress than fathers in the control group, particularly concerning infant behavior and parental role alteration.
Conclusions:
- The individualized support program showed a positive impact on specific stress-related items for mothers.
- The intervention did not lead to a significant reduction in overall parental stress for either mothers or fathers.
- Further research may be needed to explore comprehensive strategies for reducing total parental stress in the NICU setting.
Aim:
To evaluate the impact on parental stress of an individualised neonatal parent support programme.
Method:
A quasi-experimental design. Parents of preterm infants, at a level II NICU, were consecutively assigned to a control group (n = 130) and to an intervention group (n = 101). The programme focused on person-centred communication and consisted of four individual nurse-parent dialogues during the infants' hospitalisation. The Swedish version of the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit was used to assess parental stress.
Result:
The total stress scores did not vary significantly between the control and intervention groups either for mothers or for fathers. However, on item-level, some items were significantly more distressed for mothers in the control group compared to the intervention group; other sick babies being cared for in the room (p = 0.016); my baby's unusual or abnormal breathing patterns (p = 0.025); not being able to hold my baby (p = 0.014); sometimes forgetting what my baby looks like (p = 0.042); being afraid of touching or holding my baby (p = 0.030); feeling the staff is closer to my baby than I am (p = 0.006). Comparing stress between mothers and fathers in the control group demonstrated a significant higher overall stress level for mothers compared to fathers (p < 0.005). The same result was found in the subscales Infant's behaviour and appearance (p = 0.016) as well as Parental role alteration (p = 0.001). No significant differences revealed between parents in the intervention group except for one item not being able to feed the babies themselves. It was significantly more distressed for mothers (p < 0.001).
Conclusion:
In this study, there was a decreased stress experience on item level in different subscales amongst mothers, but the study did not demonstrate any impact of the intervention on total stress experience either for mothers or for fathers.
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