TABLE 2.
Characteristics and summary of article findings.
| Author, Year | Country | Objective | Study Design | Study Population | Outcome measures | Intervention | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yilmaz and Küçük Alemdar (2022) | Turkey | To determine the effects of supportive interventions on the stress levels of mothers with infants hospitalised in the NICU | Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) | Mothers of high‐risk neonates admitted to NICU (N = 85)—45 in the intervention and 40 in the control group | Maternal stress, anxiety and salivary cortisol level | Educational and Supportive Nursing Interventions | Supportive nursing intervention significantly reduced maternal stress related to the NICU environment, anxiety levels and saliva cortisol levels compared to the control group |
| Beheshtipour et al. (2014) | Iran | To determine the effect of educational programmes on parental stress during their preterm neonate's admission to NICU | Double‐blind RCT | Parents of high‐risk neonates admitted to NICU (N = 120) | Parental stress | Educational programme | Educational programmes have significant effect on reducing maternal stress during neonatal NICU admission (t = 5.23, p < 0.001) |
| Ebadi, Attarha, and Nokani (2022) | Iran | To investigate the effect of midwife‐based listening visits (MBLV) on stress, anxiety and depression among mothers of premature infants | RCT | Mothers of premature neonates who were admitted to the NICU (N = 60) | Maternal stress, anxiety and depression | Midwife‐based listening visit (MBLV) | The mean scores of anxiety, F(2, 98) = 19.92, p < 0.001), stress, F(2, 98) = 43.94, p < 0.001) and depression, F(2, 98) = 42.95, p < 0.001) significantly reduced after 4 and 8 weeks of intervention in the MBLV group |
| Khazaii et al. (2018) | Iran | To examine the effects of preterm infant care education on stress among the mother's neonates admitted to NICU | RCT | Mothers of premature neonates who were admitted to the NICU (N = 62) | Maternal stress | Preterm Infant Care Education programme | The mean scores of maternal stresses and environmental domains in the experimental group were significantly lower than in the control group (p = 0.05) |
| Mirlashari et al. (2021) | Iran | To determine the effect of group discussion between mothers and the healthcare team on mothers' stress and coping skills | Nonrandomised, prospective intervention study | Mothers with premature infants (N = 40) | Maternal stress and problem‐focused coping skills | Family‐centred care (FCC) with group discussion | Mothers in FCC with group discussion were shown significant reduction of stress compared to the control group (p = 0.002). Problem‐focused coping skills were increased significantly in the intervention group (p < 0.001) |
| Chourasia et al. (2013) | India | To determine the effect of counselling on the stress levels of NICU mothers | Interventional crossover study | Mothers of high‐risk neonates admitted to NICU (N = 100) | Maternal stress | Planned counselling sessions | There was a significant reduction in the postcounselling stress levels among NICU mothers in all three subscales of PSS: NICU, F(1,98) = 5.46, p < 0.001 |
| Al‐Maghaireh et al. (2020) | Jordan | To assess the impact of an emotional support training programme on acute stress disorder among mothers of preterm infants admitted to NICU | RCT | Mothers of preterm neonates admitted to NICU (N = 48) | Maternal stress | Emotional support training programme | There is a statistically significant difference found between the interventional and control groups [t (23) = 6.07, p < 0.001], with the mean scores of 18.53 (SD = 9.3) |
| Mousavi et al. (2021) | Iran | To investigate the impact of maternity support programmes on mothers' stress | Nonrandomised, prospective and experimental study | Mothers of preterm neonates admitted to NICU (N = 143) | Maternal stress | Maternity support programme | In the intervention group, maternal stress levels were significantly reduced compared to the control group mothers (p < 0.001) |
| Goral and Geçkil (2022) | Turkey | To investigate the effect of a comprehensive supportive programme on maternal stress levels in a NICU | Quasi‐experimental study | Mothers whose premature neonates were admitted to NICU (N = 62) | Maternal stress | Comprehensive support programme | Intervention group mothers' stress levels were significantly reduced, 2.95 (SD = 0.72), than the control group, 3.74 (SD = 0.82) (p < 0.001) in the posttest |
| Abdeyazdan et al. (2014) | Iran | To evaluate the effect of a family support intervention on the stress levels among the parents of preterm infants | Quasi‐experimental study | Parents of preterm infants admitted to NICU (N = 50) | Parental stress | Family support intervention | The intervention group's scores showed a significant reduction in maternal stress (p < 0.001) and improved coping ability among mothers (p < 0.001) |
| Jouybari et al. (2020) | Iran | To examine the effect of narrative writing and art therapy on maternal stress in the NICU during infants' hospitalisation | RCT | Mothers of infants admitted to the NICU. (N = 105) | Maternal stress | Narrative writing and art therapy | No significant differences were found between the groups and there is statistically significant difference in pre‐ and postintervention stress levels of mothers in both groups (p = 0.92) |
| Mianaei et al. (2014) | Iran | To evaluate the effect of COPE programme on maternal stress and anxiety levels among mothers of premature babies | RCT | Mothers of premature infants admitted to the NICU (N = 90) | Maternal stress | Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (COPE) | After performing each phase of the COPE programme, mothers' stress levels and anxiety levels were significantly reduced than the control group (p < 0.001) |
| Ong et al. (2019) | Malaysia | To investigate the effectiveness of a structured nursing intervention programme on maternal stress and NICU‐related maternal coping abilities | Quasi‐experimental design | Mothers of premature infants admitted to NICU (N = 216) | Maternal stress | Structured nursing intervention programme | Mean total score of maternal stress and parental role and relationship subscale decreased significantly in intervention group (p = 0.04; p < 0.001). Additionally, maternal coping ability improved substantially in the intervention group (p < 0.001) |
| Dabas et al. (2019) | India | To assess the impact of relaxation techniques on stress, anxiety and milk output among the postpartum mothers of hospitalised neonates in the NICU | Nonblinded RCT | Mothers of high‐risk neonates admitted to the NICU (N = 57) | Stress, anxiety and milk output | Audio‐assisted relaxation technique | A significant reduction was observed in maternal stress (p < 0.001) and anxiety (p < 0.001) and an improvement in milk output in the experimental group compared to the control group |
| Samsudin et al. (2023) | Malaysia | To assess the effectiveness of Kangaroo Care Education Programme on the mother's perception, knowledge, perceived barriers and stress | A quasi‐experimental and longitudinal study | Mother–infant dyads (N = 48) | Maternal stress, perception, knowledge and perceived barriers | Maternal Kangaroo Care Education Program | At 3 months of postintervention, the experimental group reported a significant reduction in stress levels and improved knowledge of KMC. The mothers' perceived barriers towards Kangaroo Care significantly decreased in the intervention group (p < 0.001) |