679 Psychological Outcomes of Parents of Children With Congenital Heart Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Parents of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk of poor psychological functioning. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine psychological outcomes, defined as stress, anxiety, depression and psychological trauma, among parents of children with CHD aged 0 to 18 years. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline was followed. Two reviewers independently screened five electronic databases and relevant reference lists. Peer-reviewed publications in English from 1980 to 2019 were included if the study sample comprised of parents of children with CHD aged 0 to 18 years and a comparison group of parents of children without CHD, and reported psychological outcomes on a standardised measure using cohort, cross-sectional, or randomised controlled trial designs. Pooled estimates were calculated using random-effects modelling. The systematic search yielded 703 publications, of which 33 studies met inclusion criteria and 9 studies were eligible for meta-analysis. Pooled estimates demonstrated parents of children with CHD scoring significantly higher for stress, SMD [95% CI]: 0.36 [0.08, 0.63], relative to parents of children without CHD. No significant between-group differences were evident for anxiety, 2.30 [-1.33, 5.93] and depression, 1.62 [-1.42, 4.67]. There was insufficient data to meta-analyse psychological trauma. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive meta-analysis concerning psychological outcomes of parents of children with CHD. Findings have implications for informing the development of targeted psychosocial interventions and care services for families, potentially buffering the risk of neurodevelopmental adversities in their children with CHD.