Purpose This study aimed to characterize the relationship between parental stress and nurses’ communication as perceived by parents of high-risk newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Methods The participants were 54 parents of high-risk newborns in a NICU. Data were collected from January to March 2018. Parental stress and parents’ perceptions of nurses’ communication ability and styles were measured using a questionnaire.
Results The average scores for parental stress and nurses’ communication ability were 3.39 and 4.38 respectively, on a 5-point scale. Parents most commonly reported that nurses showed a friendly communication style, followed by informative and authoritative styles. Mothers and fathers reported significantly different levels of parental stress. Parental stress showed a negative correlation with nurses’ perceived verbal communication ability. Higher scores for nurses’ verbal communication ability and for friendly and informative communication styles were associated with lower parental stress induced by the environment, the baby’s appearance and behaviors, and treatments in the NICU.
Conclusion The findings of this study suggest that nurses need to offer proper information for parents and to support parents by encouraging them to express their emotions of stress and by providing parents with therapeutic communication and opportunities to participate in care.
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Addressing parental stress: The contribution of nursing care Rafaela Reis, Fernanda Loureiro Journal of Pediatric Nursing.2026; 88: 10. CrossRef
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Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the paternal stress and nursing support as perceived by fathers of high risk infants admitted to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICU).
Methods The study participants included 88 fathers of high risk infants in NICUs. Their parental stress and nursing support were measured using a self-report questionnaire.
Results The parental stress level of the fathers was 3.57 of a possible 5. Among the parental stress items, ‘Relationship with infant and parental role’ had the highest scores. The perceived nursing support level was a relatively high, 3.90 on a 5-point scale. The lowest score was for the item ‘showed concern about my well-being.’ The parental stress was lower in fathers with low income, higher in fathers in nuclear families and when the infants’ condition was serious.
Conclusion The findings indicate that fathers of high risk infants experience intense parental stress. Thus when designing care to provide support for these fathers and their infants, it is necessary to encourage the fathers’ engagement, provide information on how to respond to the baby, and include supportive care to the fathers.
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Factors influencing the perception of shared decision-making among parents of children with type 1 diabetes mellitus: A cross-sectional study guided by the Ottawa Decision Support Framework In Hyeong Choi, In Young Cho Journal of Pediatric Nursing.2025; 85: 346. CrossRef
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The experience of fathers whose infants were hospitalized in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in South Korea: A scoping review Jiyeon Lee, Sunyeob Choi Journal of Pediatric Nursing.2023; 72: 36. CrossRef
Effects of a Noncontact Visit Program in the NICU for the Prevention of COVID-19 Hye Young Ahn, Hee Jee Jo, Hyun Jeong Ko Healthcare.2023; 11(15): 2152. CrossRef
Reviewing recordings of neonatal resuscitation with parents Maria C den Boer, Mirjam Houtlosser, Ruben S G M Witlox, Roosmarijn van der Stap, Martine C de Vries, Enrico Lopriore, Arjan B te Pas Archives of Disease in Childhood - Fetal and Neona.2021; 106(4): 346. CrossRef
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PURPOSE This study was done to identify the effectiveness of the 'intervention - mother's recorded song' on low-birth weight infants in an neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). METHODS This study was conducted with a nonequivalent control group pre-posttest quasi-experimental design and the participant group was low-birth weight infants who were admitted to the NICU. Forty-eight infants, 24 in each from two groups, the experimental and control group, participated in the study. RESULTS For physical response according to vital signs, there were no significant statistical differences in heart rate, respiration rate and pulse oximetry saturation between the experimental group and the control group. For behavioral state, there was a significant statistical difference between the experimental and control group. CONCLUSION The study results indicate that the intervention using mother's song had some significance as a nursing intervention with positive impacts. Such an intervention can help pediatric nurses improve infants' stabilization of their vital signs and behavioral states. By showing the effectiveness of such an intervention, the results of this study provide further evidence-based information in developing the practice of pediatric nursing.
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Effects of Hearing Recorded Mother's Voice on Physiological Reactions and Behavioral State of Sleep, Weight of Very Low Birth Weight Infants. Mi Hyang Choi, In Soon Kang, Young Hae Kim Child Health Nursing Research.2014; 20(3): 185. CrossRef
Concept Analysis of Developmental Care for Preterm Infants: Hybrid Model. Jeongsoon Kim, Heesun Shin Child Health Nursing Research.2014; 20(4): 350. CrossRef
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