Depression and anxiety symptoms are common and decrease only modestly post-discharge among parents with children who are hospitalized, according to study findings published in BMJ Mental Health.
Researchers conducted a longitudinal prospective cohort study to describe the prevalence of depression and anxiety among parents with hospitalized children and to explore the factors associated with these symptoms over time.
Eligible participants were parents with children who were hospitalized across 14 countries. Researchers evaluated parental mental health during hospitalization, at discharge, and at 3 months post-discharge between 2023 and 2024. Participating parents were aged at least 18 years and staying at a Ronald McDonald House® during their child’s hospitalization.
Acute and primary care health systems should consider routine screening at the hospital and after discharge to identify parents with mental health symptoms needing intervention.
Among the 3350 parent participants (median age, 35 years; 69.0% stayed in the Ronald McDonald House in the US), 78.6% were mothers, 18.1% were fathers, and 3.3% were other caregivers. Most children were older than neonates (76.2%) and were most likely treated in cardiology (24.3%), neonatal (23.1%), or oncology/hematology (23.1%) departments. Parents living with their partners made up 76.3% of participants, 44.1% were employed, and 46.6% had low annual household income.
Parental depression and anxiety symptoms were the primary outcomes.
Median times to survey completion were 5 days after check-in at the Ronald McDonald House, 2 days after hospital discharge, and 95 days post-discharge.
Clinically significant or concerning symptoms of depression occurred overall in 49.7% of participants during hospitalization, and clinically significant or concerning symptoms of anxiety occurred in 69.0% of participants during hospitalization, decreasing at discharge to 44.6% and 59.5%, respectively, and at post-discharge to 42.8% and 59.2%, respectively.
Parents with high, moderate, and low levels of social support experienced decreasing depression symptoms over time (50%, 27%, and 5%, respectively), and self-care demonstrated a similar decreasing pattern over time (29%, 27%, and 22%, respectively).
Parents with high or moderate vs low perceived levels of family-centered care had decreasing depression symptoms (20% decrease vs 11% decrease, respectively).
Parents with high or moderate levels of unmet basic needs vs low levels experienced increasing depression symptoms (18% vs 8%, respectively), and poorer vs healthier ratings of their child’s health (68% vs 32%, respectively). Anxiety symptoms showed similar trends.
Study limitations include a lack of generalizability, no data on children’s diagnosis or clinician-assessed data on illness severity, and children of parents completing the discharge survey had longer hospital stays, which can impact parental health.
The study authors concluded. “Acute and primary care health systems should consider routine screening at the hospital and after discharge to identify parents with mental health symptoms needing intervention.”
