Victoria A Grunberg1,2, Pamela A Geller3,4, Casey Hoffman4,5, Wanjiku Njoroge5,6, Annisa Ahmed5, Chavis A Patterson4,6. 1. Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. vgrunberg@mgh.harvard.edu. 2. Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. vgrunberg@mgh.harvard.edu. 3. Department of Psychology, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 4. Division of Neonatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 5. Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 6. Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: About 40-50% of parents with children admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) experience clinically significant levels of depression, anxiety, and trauma. Poor parental mental health can negatively influence parent-child interactions and child development. Therefore, early identification of parents at-risk for clinical distress is of paramount importance. METHODS: To address this need, the psychosocial team, including psychology and psychiatry, at a large, level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) developed a quality-improvement initiative to assess the feasibility of screening parents and to determine rates of depression and trauma in the unit. RESULTS: About 40% of mothers and 20% of fathers were screened between 2 weeks of their child's hospitalization. About 40-45% of those parents endorsed clinically significant levels of depression and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for enhancing the feasibility and effectiveness of this process are discussed and considerations for future clinical and research endeavors are introduced.
OBJECTIVE: About 40-50% of parents with children admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU) experience clinically significant levels of depression, anxiety, and trauma. Poor parental mental health can negatively influence parent-child interactions and child development. Therefore, early identification of parents at-risk for clinical distress is of paramount importance. METHODS: To address this need, the psychosocial team, including psychology and psychiatry, at a large, level 4 Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) developed a quality-improvement initiative to assess the feasibility of screening parents and to determine rates of depression and trauma in the unit. RESULTS: About 40% of mothers and 20% of fathers were screened between 2 weeks of their child's hospitalization. About 40-45% of those parents endorsed clinically significant levels of depression and anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations for enhancing the feasibility and effectiveness of this process are discussed and considerations for future clinical and research endeavors are introduced.
Authors: L J Woodward; S Bora; C A C Clark; A Montgomery-Hönger; V E Pritchard; C Spencer; N C Austin Journal: J Perinatol Date: 2014-03-20 Impact factor: 2.521
Authors: Mauricio A Palau; Maxene R Meier; John T Brinton; Sunah S Hwang; Genie E Roosevelt; Thomas A Parker Journal: J Perinatol Date: 2018-12-10 Impact factor: 2.521
Authors: Erica Neri; Federica Genova; Marcello Stella; Alessandra Provera; Augusto Biasini; Francesca Agostini Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-07-22 Impact factor: 4.614