Abstract
The purpose of this study was to conduct a literature review that examined parental coping mechanisms and stress relief techniques for parents of infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). A search was conducted using multiples databases using key terms such as stress AND coping, parent* OR caregiver, ped* OR child*, support* or aid, NICU OR neonatal intensive care unit, and nurs*. The results were limited to scholarly, peer reviewed journals in the English language. Exclusion criteria included not relating to parents or caregivers and mechanisms of coping with stress or if they pertain to palliative or end-of-life care. Each article meeting the inclusion criteria were critiqued and analyzed for information pertaining to the topic of this review. The thirteen articles yielded from the search revolved around the common themes of Visitation/Participation, Communication, and Comfort Measures. The literature revealed an overall positive association in reducing the amount of stress experienced when an intervention was provided. Implications for further research involve directly comparing the efficacy of interventions to determine which could be most useful in practice.
Thesis Completion
2019
Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair/Advisor
Decker, Jonathan
Degree
Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.)
College
College of Nursing
Department
Nursing
Degree Program
Nursing
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Release Date
5-1-2019
Recommended Citation
Day, Samantha E., "Exploring Stress Management and Coping Mechanisms in Parents of Infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)" (2019). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 467.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses/467