Exploring the uncertainty and coping strategies of parents of preterm infants

Background: Preterm infants face higher health and developmental risks both immediately following birth and over the long term. Therefore parents of premature infants face significantly higher uncertainty and unpredictability than those who carry their children to term. Purpose: This study explores the relationship between uncertainty and coping strategies in parents of preterm infants. Methods: This study used a cross-sectional design and structured questionnaires. Participants were recruited at a medical center hospital in Taichung City in Central Taiwan. Questionnaire data were collected from 130 parents of preterm infants. Mishel's Parent Perception of Uncertainty Scale (PPUS) and the Jalowiec Coping Scale (JCS) were used. Results: The top two uncertainty items cited by participants were: "It is not clear what is going to happen to my child" and "It is difficult to determine how long it will be before I can care for my child by myself." The top two coping behavior items were: "Hope things will get better" and "Try to find out more about the situation to handle it better." Uncertainty score correlated positively with male births, singleton births, illness severity and negatively with gestational age and birth weight. Results also identified a positive correlation between uncertainty score and the degree to which participants pursued emotion-based strategies and a negative correlation between uncertainty score and the degree to which participants pursued problem-focused strategies. Fathers and parents with higher education levels tended to employ problem-focused strategies more than their peers. Conclusions / Implications for Practice: Pediatric nursing staffs may apply the findings to help parents of preterm infants use cognitive coping behaviors to handle feelings of uncertainty and enhance the ability of family members to adjust their life and improve infant care quality. Stepwise regression analysis found number of birth weeks, infant gender, emotion-oriented coping behaviors, and problem-oriented coping behaviors to be important factors of influence on level of parent uncertainty, explaining 33% of total variance.