A review of interventions supporting parent's psychological well‐being after a child's intensive care unit discharge. Issue 3 (10th December 2018) - Bedford, Zoe C
ABSTRACT: Background: Having a child admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is a highly stressful experience, and post‐traumatic stress among parents is well documented. How best to support these parents is currently unclear. Aim: To review research on interventions to support the psychological well‐being of parents after their child's discharge from paediatric intensive care. Methods: Searches were conducted using Medline, PsycINFO, PubMed, CINAHL and The Cochrane library in January 2017. Study selection was carried out using pre‐specified criteria. Following appraisal of methodological quality and risk of bias, data were extracted and analysed using a narrative synthesis. Results: Six quantitative studies met the inclusion criteria. Intervention types included follow‐up appointments, telephone calls, educational information and post‐admission interviews. Insufficient evidence was found to fully support any intervention in isolation, but findings support a clear trend that some form of follow up is beneficial. Conclusions: Testing costly interventions is challenging and takes time. In the meantime, a low‐cost intervention (such as an information leaflet) to raise awareness of potential problems in staff and to provide a support resource for parents is recommended. Relevance to clinical practice: Parents and carers of children admitted to PICU can develop post‐traumatic stress symptoms after their child's discharge from PICU. This article addresses how best to support these parents to improve their psychological well‐being.