Trust in medical professionals and its influence on the stress experience of parents of premature infants.

Abstract

To examine parents' perceptions of stress and their trust in physicians and nursing staff and to investigate whether trust influences the parental perceptions of potential stressors resulting from their infant's hospitalisation in a neonatal intensive care unit. Parents of very and extremely low birth weight infants were surveyed in a nationwide retrospective cross-sectional study 6-18months after their child's birth. Parental stress was measured utilising the PSS:NICU_German/2-scales, and trust was measured by the scales Trust in Physicians and Trust in Nursing Staff. In addition to descriptive analyses, multiple linear regression models were conducted. The change in parents' anticipated roles was assessed as more stressful than their infant's appearance and behaviour. Trust in nursing staff significantly influenced the parental stress level. Although the level of trust in physicians was rated higher than trust in nursing staff, trust in physicians did not yield a significant effect on the parental stress experience. Efforts to foster parental trust in nursing staff may reduce the parental stress level and hence enable parents to better cope with the situation. The parental resources unleashed in this way can be employed to enhance parenting.