{"id":{"repo_id":"calgary","oai_identifier":"oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/124413"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/calgary/oai:ucalgary.scholaris.ca:1880/124413","repository":{"repo_id":"calgary","name":"University of Calgary","base_url":"https://ucalgary.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Interventions Aimed at Reducing Maternal Psychological Distress with Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis","abstract":"Background: Mothers of infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) experience substantial psychological distress (PD) in the form of depression, anxiety, and/or stress symptoms. Mothers experience PD symptoms on various trajectories, and these symptoms can have short and long-term effects on the mother, family, and infant. There is a need for interventions to reduce maternal PD symptoms, but there is a large and diverse number of interventions that have been tested causing mixed results of effectiveness and a lack of consensus on the definition of the term maternal PD. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following Cochrane Guidelines. The research question was: What is the effectiveness of interventions that start in the hospital for mothers of infants in the NICU in terms of reducing PD in the form of anxiety, depression, and/or stress symptoms? The objectives of this systematic review were to synthesize and identify the interventions used with the objective of reducing maternal PD symptoms. Selection of studies was based on pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A systematic search yielded a total of 5,767 studies that two reviewers independently screened. A total of 186 full text articles were pre-screened, which then resulted in 29 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. The included studies were grouped into intervention categories, which were educational (n = 6), multimodal (n = 9), psychotherapeutic (n = 8), and complementary and alternative (n = 6). The data permitted a meta-analysis, which included 17 studies to assess depression, stress, and anxiety postintervention outcomes. A quality assessment was completed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool and confidence in evidence was done using the GRADE approach. The results from this review demonstrate a reduction of PD symptoms, but there was high heterogeneity. Although there is statistical significance in the reduction of symptoms, we demonstrate that the clinical significance on screening measures was small. The results should be interpreted with caution. Future research should consider larger randomized controlled trials, consistent measures for PD, and be conducted on all caregivers with infants admitted in the NICU.","abstract_html":"Background: Mothers of infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) experience substantial psychological distress (PD) in the form of depression, anxiety, and/or stress symptoms. Mothers experience PD symptoms on various trajectories, and these symptoms can have short and long-term effects on the mother, family, and infant. There is a need for interventions to reduce maternal PD symptoms, but there is a large and diverse number of interventions that have been tested causing mixed results of effectiveness and a lack of consensus on the definition of the term maternal PD. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following Cochrane Guidelines. The research question was: What is the effectiveness of interventions that start in the hospital for mothers of infants in the NICU in terms of reducing PD in the form of anxiety, depression, and/or stress symptoms? The objectives of this systematic review were to synthesize and identify the interventions used with the objective of reducing maternal PD symptoms. Selection of studies was based on pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A systematic search yielded a total of 5,767 studies that two reviewers independently screened. A total of 186 full text articles were pre-screened, which then resulted in 29 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. The included studies were grouped into intervention categories, which were educational (n = 6), multimodal (n = 9), psychotherapeutic (n = 8), and complementary and alternative (n = 6). The data permitted a meta-analysis, which included 17 studies to assess depression, stress, and anxiety postintervention outcomes. A quality assessment was completed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool and confidence in evidence was done using the GRADE approach. The results from this review demonstrate a reduction of PD symptoms, but there was high heterogeneity. Although there is statistical significance in the reduction of symptoms, we demonstrate that the clinical significance on screening measures was small. The results should be interpreted with caution. Future research should consider larger randomized controlled trials, consistent measures for PD, and be conducted on all caregivers with infants admitted in the NICU.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Jarema, Karly"],"institution":"Graduate Studies","degree_name":"Master of Nursing (MN)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Nursing","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Kingston, Dawn","Benzies, Karen","Lemermeyer, Gillian"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":["Chaput, Kathleen"],"year":2026,"date_issued":"2026-03-23","date_published":"2026-03-23","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:30:29Z","subjects":["Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)","Maternal or Mother","Psychological Distress","Anxiety","Depression","Stress"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51216"],"render_values":[{"text":"https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51216","href":"https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51216","code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/1880/124413","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Kingston, Dawn","Benzies, Karen","Lemermeyer, Gillian"]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Chaput, Kathleen"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Jarema, Karly"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2026-06"]},{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2026-04-01T14:56:35Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2026-03-23"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Calgary"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["master thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Nursing"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Nursing (MN)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["University of Calgary"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)","Maternal or Mother","Psychological Distress","Anxiety","Depression","Stress"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51216"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/1880/124413"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Background: Mothers of infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) experience substantial psychological distress (PD) in the form of depression, anxiety, and/or stress symptoms. Mothers experience PD symptoms on various trajectories, and these symptoms can have short and long-term effects on the mother, family, and infant. There is a need for interventions to reduce maternal PD symptoms, but there is a large and diverse number of interventions that have been tested causing mixed results of effectiveness and a lack of consensus on the definition of the term maternal PD. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following Cochrane Guidelines. The research question was: What is the effectiveness of interventions that start in the hospital for mothers of infants in the NICU in terms of reducing PD in the form of anxiety, depression, and/or stress symptoms? The objectives of this systematic review were to synthesize and identify the interventions used with the objective of reducing maternal PD symptoms. Selection of studies was based on pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A systematic search yielded a total of 5,767 studies that two reviewers independently screened. A total of 186 full text articles were pre-screened, which then resulted in 29 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. The included studies were grouped into intervention categories, which were educational (n = 6), multimodal (n = 9), psychotherapeutic (n = 8), and complementary and alternative (n = 6). The data permitted a meta-analysis, which included 17 studies to assess depression, stress, and anxiety postintervention outcomes. A quality assessment was completed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool and confidence in evidence was done using the GRADE approach. The results from this review demonstrate a reduction of PD symptoms, but there was high heterogeneity. Although there is statistical significance in the reduction of symptoms, we demonstrate that the clinical significance on screening measures was small. The results should be interpreted with caution. Future research should consider larger randomized controlled trials, consistent measures for PD, and be conducted on all caregivers with infants admitted in the NICU."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Interventions Aimed at Reducing Maternal Psychological Distress with Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Kingston, Dawn","Benzies, Karen","Lemermeyer, Gillian"],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Chaput, Kathleen"],"dc:creator":["Jarema, Karly"],"dc:date":["2026-06"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2026-04-01T14:56:35Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2026-03-23"],"dc:description.abstract":["Background: Mothers of infants admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) experience substantial psychological distress (PD) in the form of depression, anxiety, and/or stress symptoms. Mothers experience PD symptoms on various trajectories, and these symptoms can have short and long-term effects on the mother, family, and infant. There is a need for interventions to reduce maternal PD symptoms, but there is a large and diverse number of interventions that have been tested causing mixed results of effectiveness and a lack of consensus on the definition of the term maternal PD. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis following Cochrane Guidelines. The research question was: What is the effectiveness of interventions that start in the hospital for mothers of infants in the NICU in terms of reducing PD in the form of anxiety, depression, and/or stress symptoms? The objectives of this systematic review were to synthesize and identify the interventions used with the objective of reducing maternal PD symptoms. Selection of studies was based on pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results: A systematic search yielded a total of 5,767 studies that two reviewers independently screened. A total of 186 full text articles were pre-screened, which then resulted in 29 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. The included studies were grouped into intervention categories, which were educational (n = 6), multimodal (n = 9), psychotherapeutic (n = 8), and complementary and alternative (n = 6). The data permitted a meta-analysis, which included 17 studies to assess depression, stress, and anxiety postintervention outcomes. A quality assessment was completed using the Cochrane Collaboration risk of bias tool and confidence in evidence was done using the GRADE approach. The results from this review demonstrate a reduction of PD symptoms, but there was high heterogeneity. Although there is statistical significance in the reduction of symptoms, we demonstrate that the clinical significance on screening measures was small. The results should be interpreted with caution. Future research should consider larger randomized controlled trials, consistent measures for PD, and be conducted on all caregivers with infants admitted in the NICU."],"dc:identifier.doi":["https://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/51216"],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/1880/124413"],"dc:language.iso":["en"],"dc:publisher.institution":["University of Calgary"],"dc:rights":["University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission."],"dc:subject":["Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)","Maternal or Mother","Psychological Distress","Anxiety","Depression","Stress"],"dc:title":["Interventions Aimed at Reducing Maternal Psychological Distress with Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis"],"dc:type":["master thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Nursing"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Nursing (MN)"],"thesis:institution_name":["University of Calgary"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:30:29Z"}