Objective: Evaluate the effect of parental protective factors on parental stress at time of NICU admission and prior to discharge.
Study design: Parents of infants born at <35 weeks gestation were approached at a single level III NICU. Consenting parents completed a questionnaire on admission and prior to infant's discharge of demographic information and three validated instruments: (1) parental stress (PSS:NICU), (2) Parents' Assessment of Protective Factors (PAPF), and (3) health literacy (PHLAT-8).
Results: Mean PSS:NICU Total score was 2.8 ± 0.9 (Time 1) and 2.6 ± 1.1 (Time 2). Mean PAPF scores in all subcategories were high (means >3, ±0.3-0.5) (Time 1, Time 2). There was no clinically significant association between PSS:NICU scores and PAPF or any of the other measured variables.
Conclusion: PAPF and other commonly implicated factors were not associated with perceived self-reported parental stress at time of NICU admission and prior to discharge.
© 2020. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.