Effects of web neonatal intensive care unit diaries on the mental health, quality of life, sleep quality, care ability, and hormone levels of parents of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: A randomized controlled trial

Xiaoting Li; Ying Lin; Long Huang; Huimin Lin; Xiao Cheng; Sijia Li; Rongfang Hu; Jinhua Liao

doi:10.1016/j.iccn.2024.103697

Effects of web neonatal intensive care unit diaries on the mental health, quality of life, sleep quality, care ability, and hormone levels of parents of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit: A randomized controlled trial

Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2024 Apr 6:83:103697. doi: 10.1016/j.iccn.2024.103697. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Xiaoting Li¹, Ying Lin², Long Huang³, Huimin Lin², Xiao Cheng⁴, Sijia Li⁴, Rongfang Hu⁵, Jinhua Liao⁶

Affiliations

¹ The School of Nursing, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China; Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
² Fujian Maternity and Child Health Hospital, College of Clinical Medicine for Obstetrics & Gynecology and Pediatrics, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
³ Zhuhai People's Hospital (Zhuhai Clinical Medical College of Jinan University), Zhuhai, China.
⁴ The School of Nursing, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China.
⁵ The School of Nursing, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China. Electronic address: hurongfang1234@sina.com.
⁶ The School of Nursing, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China; The Nursing National Experimental Learning Demonstration Center, Fujian Medical University, Fuzhou, China. Electronic address: bloom0402@sina.com.

PMID: 38583413
DOI: 10.1016/j.iccn.2024.103697

Abstract

Objective: To examine the effects of web neonatal intensive care unit diaries on the mental health, quality of life, sleep quality, care ability, and hormone levels of parents of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Design: Prospective randomized controlled parallel-group clinical trial.

Setting: Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Fujian, China.

Methods: The control group received routine neonatal intensive care unit care, while the intervention group received a web neonatal intensive care unit diary based on routine care. Outcomes, including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, quality of life, sleep quality, care ability, and cortisol and melatonin levels, were evaluated at T1 (Time 1, before the intervention), T2 (Time 2, immediately after the intervention), and T3 (Time 3, 1 month after the intervention).

Results: Seventy pairs of parents of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit were randomly allocated to two groups: intervention (n = 35) and control (n = 35). The anxiety scores in the intervention group were significantly lower at T2 and T3 than those in the control group (P < 0.001). The care ability scores in the intervention group were significantly higher at T2 and T3 (P < 0.001). The prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder at T3 was significantly different between the groups (P = 0.040). No significant differences were observed in the quality of life or sleep quality between the groups at T2 and T3 (P > 0.05). No significant differences were observed in cortisol and melatonin levels between the groups (P > 0.05).

Conclusions: Web neonatal intensive care unit diaries effectively relieved anxiety symptoms, reduced the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder, and enhanced the care abilities of parents of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Implications for clinical practice: Web neonatal intensive care unit diary can be considered in clinical practice as a convenient psychological intervention method, especially among parents of preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Diary; Neonatal intensive care unit; Parents; Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.