NICU Parent and Staff Advocacy to Address Parental Mental Health
Published In
Clinical Pediatrics
Document Type
Citation
Publication Date
6-10-2024
Abstract
Parents of infants requiring neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) hospitalization often experience increased rates of distress, trauma, and perinatal mood disorders. Untreated parental mental health conditions have short- and long-term effects for infants and families. While some NICUs provide varying degrees of mental health supports for NICU families, these services are not universally or systematically integrated in US NICUs. Multiple factors contribute to this gap in care, including mental health stigma, funding constraints, and lack of staff training and capacity. In an effort to address this gap, we used a participatory action research approach, guided by a Patient and Stakeholder Engagement model, to partner with graduate NICU parents and patient-facing NICU staff to identify parental mental health needs and ideas to address them. Through efforts to mitigate power differentials and engage parents as research and program development partners, our work shaped NICU practices, programming, and subsequent research.
Rights
Copyright © 2024 by SAGE Publications
Locate the Document
DOI
10.1177/00099228241260167
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/42386
Citation Details
Klawetter, S., Gievers, L., McEvoy, C. T., & Nicolaidis, C. (2024). NICU Parent and Staff Advocacy to Address Parental Mental Health. Clinical Pediatrics.