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Promoting mental well-being among parents in the neonatal intensive care unit: a perspective on the role of Physician Associates

Journal of Perinatology (2024)Cite this article

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Abstract

Emotional disorders in parents of infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) carry the potential for serious ramifications in neonatal and childhood outcomes. Despite this, current NICU mental health supports are less than optimum; postpartum mental health screening is limited, often missed in parents of inpatient infants, and may not be applicable to all family structures. Current evidence demonstrates improved outcomes in neonates and family members with early identification and multidisciplinary approaches to managing mental health problems. Physician Associates/Assistants (PAs) are a skilled group of advanced practice providers who are often a point of first contact for parents in the NICU, helping maintain continuity of care. In this perspective, we underscore leveraging the skills of PAs to promote the emotional wellbeing of parents in the NICU by way of practice and policy involvement. We also included a generic set of recommendations to equip PAs in this role.

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Funding

Funding

There were no sources of funding or sponsorship received in relation to this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, McMaster Children’s Hospital, 1200 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8N 3Z5, Canada

    Brooke Wile & Karolina Skowronski

  2. Physician Assistant Education Program, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada

    Brooke Wile

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, McMaster University/St Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, 100 West 5th Street, Hamilton, ON, L8N 3K7, Canada

    Khashayar Shariati & Andrew T. Olagunju

  4. Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, 5000, Australia

    Andrew T. Olagunju

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  1. Brooke Wile
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  2. Karolina Skowronski
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  3. Khashayar Shariati
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  4. Andrew T. Olagunju
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Contributions

BW conceptualized and drafted the original manuscript, and assisted with revision and manuscript submission. KS assisted with manuscript conceptualization and revision. KS assisted with manuscript conceptualization and revision. ATO conceptualized and assisted in drafting the original manuscript, and assisted with revision and completed manuscript submission. ATO supervised the entire project as the senior author. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

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Correspondence to Andrew T. Olagunju.

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Wile, B., Skowronski, K., Shariati, K. et al. Promoting mental well-being among parents in the neonatal intensive care unit: a perspective on the role of Physician Associates. J Perinatol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-01936-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41372-024-01936-0

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