Family Resilience as an Emerging Concept in Neonatology: Evidence From a Metasummary Review.
Geneviève Laporte, Sophie Sergerie-Richard, Christine Genest and 1 others
PMID 37582182WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of preterm infants in NICUs described resilience through positive outlook, making meaning, and peer support.
The themes suggest nurses may help parents stay involved, share information, and connect with other families.
Key findings
01Positive outlook was reported in 91% of studies, and making meaning of adversity in 80%.
02Other NICU parents were described as the most important support, while healthcare team support was not always appreciated.
03Family communication was rarely represented: clarity in communication appeared in 4% of studies and collaborative problem solving in 16%.
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 synthesis of qualitative experiences, so it cannot show that any nursing action improves resilience or mental health. The review excluded neonatal death, breastfeeding, specific treatments, relationships with healthcare professionals, COVID-19, discharge, and home care, leaving important parts of the NICU journey outside the findings. Many included studies asked directly about coping, which may make positive outlook and meaning making look more common than they would be in a general NICU population. The percentages show how often themes appeared across studies, not how many parents experienced them or how severe they were. Article selection and extraction were mainly done by one lead reviewer, and the supplied text does not report formal quality appraisal of the included studies.
Declared interests
No conflict-of-interest declaration is included in the supplied text. Publication types list non-U.S. government research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 91% and 80% figures as evidence that nurses can improve resilience. They are the proportion of included qualitative studies reporting those themes, not results from an intervention.