Original scientific paper

POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER IN PARENTS OF CHILDREN HOSPITALIZED IN THE NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT (NICU): MEDICAL AND DEMOGRAPHIC RISK FACTORS

Anna Aftyka orcid.org/0000-0002-4249-3937 ; Department of Anaesthesiological and Intensive Care Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
Beata Rybojad orcid.org/0000-0002-3399-9194 ; Department of Expert Medical Assistance with Emergency Medicine Unit, Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland; Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Unit, Children’s University Hospital of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
Ilona Rozalska-Walaszek ; Department of Anaesthesiological and Intensive Care Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
Patryk Rzoñca ; Department of Expert Medical Assistance with Emergency Medicine Unit, Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland
Ewa Humeniuk ; Department of Pathology and Rehabilitation of Speech, Faculty of Nursing and Health Sciences, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland

Abstract

Background: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among parents of neonates hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care
Units (NICU) stays an underestimated problem. We determined the incidence of PTSD in parents and pointed out medical and
demographic risk factors for PTSD in neonates hospitalized in the NICU.
Subject and methods: The study involved 39 mothers and 27 fathers of 42 infants aged 1 to 16 months who were hospitalized in
the NICU of a Children’s University Hospital during the neonatal period. As a measure of PTSD we used the Polish version of the
Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). The current level of stress was measured using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10). The
author’s questionnaire contained demographic and medical information on the infants hospitalized in the NICU and their parents.
Data were statistically analyzed.
Results: The incidence of PTSD and levels of stress did not differ in the group of mothers and fathers. There was a statistically
significant difference in the severity of PTSD symptoms in general (p=0.006) and the severity of symptoms of intrusion (p=0.009)
and arousal (p=0.015), which were more pronounced in mothers of children hospitalized in the NICU than in their fathers. In the
multivariate models perceived stress was the only predictor that significantly affected the rate of PTSD symptoms in parents.
Conclusions: Since PTSD is a very common problem in parents of children hospitalized in the NICU and estimating the risk of
its occurrence on the basis of collected data is not possible, the parents of all those children should be considered at high risk.

Keywords

post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) – neonates - parents

Hrčak ID:

162267

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/162267

Publication date:

15.12.2014.

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