Posttraumatic Stress, Depression, Anxiety and Stress in Mothers of Children Discharged from Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU)

When children are admitted into Paediatric Intensive Care Units (PICU), the circumstances surrounding the admission can be extremely stressful for their parents. As such, parents may experience emotional distress that can persist after their child’s discharge. This study, is part of a larger study that examined medical traumatic stress in PICU children and their parents. This study will examine various maternal, child and PICU treatment characteristics that contribute to maternal posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and stress following PICU admissions. One hundred and forty-two mothers of PICU survivors, aged 3 to 17 completed questionnaires immediately after their child’s discharge from PICU (T1). Immediately after their child’s discharge from PICU (T1), 41.1% of the mothers reported experiencing moderate to severe posttraumatic stress. Between 17.6% and 22.5% of the mothers also reported elevated levels of depression, anxiety and stress. Maternal perception of treatment intensity, maternal premorbid physical health, maternal perception of threat to child’s life, and child’s posttraumatic stress were found to be factors associated with all measures of maternal emotional distress at T1. At three months post-discharge (T2), a significant reduction on all measures of maternal emotional distress was found. Child’s posttraumatic stress at T1 was found to predict maternal posttraumatic stress at T2 and child’s exposure to distressing events in PICU was found to predict maternal anxiety at T2. At six months post-discharge (T3), no further reduction was found on all measures of maternal emotional distress. In addition, none of the study’s variables predicted maternal emotional distress at T3. At T2 and T3, there were mothers who reported moderate to severe posttraumatic stress even though they were unlikely to meet diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. A child’s admission into PICU is a stressful event for parents. Immediately after their child’s discharge from PICU, posttraumatic stress is common amongst mothers (41.1%). Maternal depression (18.3%), anxiety (17.6%) and stress (22.5%) were also found in about a fifth of the mothers. Although, a significant reduction on all measures of maternal emotional distress was found at 3 months post-discharge, follow-up care is warranted and treatment should not end after discharge. In addition, support for mothers should not be limited only to those who meet diagnostic criteria as there are mothers who experience moderate to severe levels of distress even though they were unlikely to meet diagnostic criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder. Research should focus on reducing parental emotional distress so that their ability to care for their recovering child is not compromised