Empowerment programs for parental mental health of preterm infants: A meta-analysis.

Abstract

To assess the effectiveness of empowerment programs on mental health in parents of preterm infants. Ten databases were searched for randomised controlled trials and quasi-experimental studies published from inception to March 2020, and two reviewers independently and critically assessed trial quality and extracted data. Eight studies with a total of 1029 participants met the inclusion criteria. Empowerment programs significantly improved parental mental health, particularly maternal stress and depression. This meta-analysis also indicated that Creating Opportunities for Parent Empowerment (COPE) had a medium effect on maternal mental health. Both empowerment-based health education and empowerment programs conducted during the infants' hospitalisation had large effects on maternal mental health, whereas those conducted from hospitalisation to one week after discharge showed no significant effect. Empowerment programs have positive effects on parental mental health, especially for mothers. Our study provides objective evidence for the development of future empowerment programs.