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Pediatric Intensive Care-Associated Parental Traumatic Stressors by Parent Report: Beyond the First Year

Mekela Whyte-Nesfield1,2, Jiaxiang Gai3, Daniel Kaplan4

  • 1Division of Pediatric Critical Care, Children's National Hospital, Washington, DC, USA.

Journal of Patient Experience
|May 15, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) stays cause significant parental stress, with some stressors persisting for up to 30 months. Sensing an immediate need for care increased PTSD risk in parents.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Intensive Care
  • Parental Mental Health
  • Trauma Psychology

Background:

  • Pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) admissions represent a significant source of stress for parents.
  • Understanding parental psychological responses is crucial for improving family-centered care.
  • Longitudinal data on parental stress following PICU stays are limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore parental recollections of stress-invoking events during a child's PICU admission.
  • To examine the relationship between specific parental stressor themes and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder/symptoms (PTSD/PTSS).
  • To assess the persistence of parental stress up to 30 months post-PICU discharge.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective longitudinal mixed-methods cohort study.
  • Content analysis and consensus coding of parental responses regarding stress-invoking events.
  • Assessment of parental PTSD/PTSS and acute stress disorder at PICU discharge, 3-9 months, and 18-30 months postdischarge.

Main Results:

  • Parents reporting "Sensing immediate need for additional care for my child" were more likely to meet PTSD criteria at 3-9 months (P=.02).
  • Parents reporting no PICU-related stressors were less likely to meet PTSS criteria at 3-9 and 18-30 months (P<.05).
  • Significant parental stress persists for up to 30 months, though participant attrition impacted later findings.

Conclusions:

  • Parental stress following pediatric intensive care is substantial and can be long-lasting.
  • Specific themes, like perceived immediate need for care, are associated with higher PTSD risk.
  • Findings highlight the importance of addressing parental psychological well-being during and after PICU admission.

Keywords:
PTSDacute posttraumatic stress disorderacute stress disordercritical carecritical illnesspostintensive care syndromeposttraumatic stress disorder

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