Evaluation of the effect of narrative writing on the stress sources of the parents of preterm neonates admitted to the NICU

Abstract

Objective: Identification of the nurses’ and families’ understanding of the stresses in the facilitates nursing interventions and increases parental satisfaction. Material and methods: The quasiexperimental study with pretest and posttest was administered to a sample size of 70 mothers with preterm neonates hospitalized in the NICUs of two teaching hospitals of Tehran University of Medical during 6 months. The Parental Stressor Scale (PSS) was used. The data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistical methods. Results: Evaluation of the differences in the domains of the questionnaire between the 3rd and 10th day of admission using a multivariate analysis showed that narrative writing had significant effects on all three domains (Roys' largest root = 2.141, F = 47.11, p values < 0.001). The results showed that the highest stress reduction was observed in Infant Behavior and Appearance (−11.847) followed by Sights and Sounds of the Unit (−11.352) while the lowest stress reduction was observed in the Parental Role Alterations (−6.149) in the intervention group, while the control mothers experienced a stress increase in all domains. Conclusion: According to the findings, narrative writing may be considered an efficient supportive intervention to reduce the maternal stress Infant behavior and appearance in the NICUs. However, more research is needed to justify its implementation.