Publication Date
Spring 5-2025
School
School of Nursing
Major
Nursing (B.S.N.)
Keywords
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Mental Health, Family Centered Care, Parental Mental Health
Disciplines
Maternal, Child Health and Neonatal Nursing
Recommended Citation
Lyford, Christine, "Healthy Sendoffs: The Long-Term Mental Health Effects on NICU Parents and How Nurses Can Improve Outcomes" (2025). Senior Honors Theses. 1513.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/honors/1513
Abstract
Parents who enter the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) undergo numerous stressors on their psychological wellbeing that can leave them with impacts long after discharge. This review was conducted to analyze the severity of long-term mental health deficits in parents and compare various nursing interventions that could decrease the incidence of these deficits. Seven databases were searched within the past seven years and documented in the PRISMA flow chart with twelve articles being identified as meeting the inclusion requirements. These articles found a higher prevalence of adverse mental health outcomes in NICU parents, with a focus on family centered care (FCC) as the best method of prevention. Since there is a gap in the literature focusing on long-term impacts, more research needs to be done.
