Parental Mental Health After Child Hospitalization

Mental health is an epidemic that is prevalent in all stages of life, but parents have been found to be especially susceptible to thoughts of anxiety and depression related to feelings of guilt or inadequate parenting. Parents with children in acute care and intensive care settings reported new symptoms of anxiety, depression, and difficulty sleeping at night that they did not have prior to their child’s hospitalization. Research finds different mental health stressors during a child’s hospitalization, and their effect on the parents likelihood of developing mental illness. This team aimed to answer the question, in parents with children who are hospitalized, how does their mental health prior to hospitalization compare to their mental health after hospitalization; what influences their likelihood of developing a mental health condition? The analysis found that sleep deprivation and parental guilt were two of the predominating factors in the development of a mental illness. It was also found that the higher the acuity of the admission, the higher the number of post traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder cases were reported. This analysis identifies causes of mental health strain on the caregivers and what measures can be taken by healthcare staff and the caregivers themselves to prevent and treat the increased risk of mental illness.