Do the parents of the youth abusing substances need to be supported? A literature review study.
Lina S Hlahla, Charity Ngoatle, Tebogo M Mothiba
PMID 36861925WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of youth admitted for substance abuse report high stress, guilt and fear, driven largely by poor information from staff.
Nurses can help by giving timely updates, asking what parents need to learn and offering brief family meetings rather than leaving parents feeling neglected.
Key findings
01Parents of admitted youth feel neglected by healthcare workers because they do not receive timely information or support, which increases their fear.
02A short 15-minute meeting between nurses and the family can be enough to empower relatives with the knowledge they need to support the patient.
03Parents need to know what is expected of them during hospitalisation to lower their distress and maintain their role in the child's care.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a narrative review, not a systematic review or meta-analysis. The authors controlled the selection of literature, which introduces potential bias. The review does not report on the quality or risk of bias of the included studies. The findings describe parents' experiences and needs but do not test any specific intervention to see if it improves outcomes. The included articles are from diverse sources (journals, books, websites), and the review does not specify the date range or search strategy details fully in the text provided.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret this as evidence that specific nursing interventions reduce parental stress or improve youth recovery. This is a narrative review describing what parents need and what nurses currently do, not a trial testing whether those actions work.