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A scoping review of parental experiences caring for their hospitalised medically fragile infants

Lyndsay J Mackay1, Karen M Benzies1,2, Chantelle Barnard3

  • 1Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.

Acta Paediatrica (Oslo, Norway : 1992)
|July 26, 2019
PubMed

Insights

Parents of hospitalized medically fragile infants face significant stress, anxiety, and disrupted parent-infant interactions. Targeted interventions are needed to support parental mental health and coping strategies.

Area of Science:

  • Neonatal care
  • Parental mental health
  • Child development

Background:

  • Medically fragile infants require intensive hospital care.
  • Parental experiences during infant hospitalization are complex and impactful.
  • Limited synthesis exists on parental coping and mental health challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To synthesize evidence on parental experiences caring for hospitalized medically fragile infants.
  • To identify key stressors and coping mechanisms reported by parents.
  • To inform the development of supportive interventions.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature search of four electronic databases (April 2018).
  • Inclusion of articles focusing on parental experiences with hospitalized medically fragile infants.
  • Thematic analysis of 34 included research articles.

Main Results:

  • Parents reported high rates of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress.
  • Parent-infant interactions were frequently disrupted.
  • Diagnosis and infant fragility led to altered parental role attainment and significant worry.

Conclusions:

  • Parents of medically fragile infants experience substantial stressors and mental health difficulties.
  • Interventions are needed to reduce parental stress and improve mental health outcomes.
  • Recommended interventions include mental health screening, psychological support, and enhanced healthcare professional training.
Abstract

Keywords:
infant mental healthmedically complex infantmedically fragile infantpaediatric nursingparent-infant interactions

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