Effectiveness of COVID-19 Prevention Training on the Stress of Mothers of Premature Infants Admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Mehdi Dehghani  Firoozabadi; Afzal  Shamsi; Fatemeh  Hosseini

doi:10.18502/aacc.v11i5.19922

Mehdi Dehghani Firoozabadi Department of Anesthesiology, Tehran Heart Center, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran.
Afzal Shamsi Department of Anesthesia, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Fatemeh Hosseini Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/aacc.v11i5.19922

Keywords: Premature infants; Education; Neonatal intensive care unit

Abstract

Background: Delivery and assuming the parental role, especially for mothers, are often accompanied by anxiety and stress, conditions that are significantly aggravated by the birth of a premature infant. The aim of our study is to "determine the effect of COVID-19 prevention training on the stress levels of mothers with premature infants admitted to the NICU."

Methods: This is a quasi-experimental study. The sample consisted of 100 mothers (50 in the experimental group and 50 in the control group) of premature infants hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Participants were randomly assigned to the two groups. The experimental group received an educational program on preventing respiratory infection transmission, with a focus on the coronavirus, delivered through individual face-to-face sessions lasting between 45 to 90 minutes over three sessions. Data for both groups were collected in two phases, before and after the intervention, using a standard Parental Stress Scale questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive and analytical statistical tests and SPSS software.

Results: According to the findings of our study, the mean age of mothers in the control and intervention groups was 26.88±0.32 and 27.10±0.30 years, respectively (T=-3.482, d=9.98, P=0.527). Also, the mean age of infants in the control group was 34.90±0.30 weeks and in the experimental group was 35.12±0.52 weeks (T=-2.582, d=9.98, P=0.114). The overall stress score in the intervention group after the intervention (93.82±7.15) significantly decreased compared to before the intervention (135.98±0.51) (P<0.001), and this significant decrease was also observed in all stress subscales (P<0.001).

Conclusion: Finally, the findings of our study showed that mothers whose infants are hospitalized in the ICU experience high levels of stress. The COVID-19 prevention training leads to a significant reduction in mothers' stress.