Psychosocial interventions are recognized as effective nonpharmacological treatments that can enhance the mental well-being of women dealing with perinatal loss. However, as these interventions vary widely, there is currently no review that systematically evaluates and ranks their effects on the mental health of women affected by perinatal loss.
The aim of this study is to integrate the existing evidence, assess and compare the effects of psychosocial interventions on negative emotions among women experiencing perinatal loss, rank the effect sizes of various interventions, and identify the most effective intervention on the basis of different outcome measures.
Seven English-language databases were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focusing on women experiencing perinatal loss, with publications up to August 20, 2024. Traditional pairwise meta-analyses were performed using Review Manager 5.4.1, while Stata 18.0 was employed for network meta-analysis and evidence synthesis. The surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) was used to assess the efficacy of the interventions. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO under number CRD42024530312.
A total of 30 RCTs encompassing 6181 participants were included in the analysis. On the basis of the SUCRA rankings, problem-solving therapy was identified as an effective treatment for alleviating depression and anxiety among women experiencing perinatal loss (depression: SUCRA = 82.55%, SMD = −1.34, 95% CI [−2.41, −0.27]; anxiety: SUCRA = 97.7%, SMD = −2.83, 95% CI [−4.26, −1.40]). Additionally, bereavement intervention emerged as the most effective approach for improving grief symptoms (SUCRA = 81.60%, SMD = −1.11, 95% CI [−2.14, −0.09]).
Compared with traditional treatment, psychosocial intervention can improve the psychological state of women with perinatal loss, and the differences in the effects of face-to-face and technology-assisted interventions should be further explored. Moreover, problem-solving therapy has proven to be effective and appears to be the most effective method for alleviating depressive and anxiety symptoms among women experiencing perinatal loss, while bereavement support is the most effective method for grief due to perinatal loss. Nursing and health policymakers can develop various intervention strategies according to the varied psychological states of women experiencing perinatal loss.
Pregnancy is a special time for women that involves substantial emotional, physical, social, and family changes, which can lead to physical and psychological harm. The rapid development of e-health has provided a favourable platform for managing health-related outcomes in pregnant women, and nurses are the professional group that is most likely to provide e-health services. Nurse-led e-health interventions have attracted increasing attention, but their effects are uncertain.
To identify the effectiveness of nurse-led e-health interventions in improving health-related outcomes in pregnant women.
A systematic review.
The PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, CINAHL, ProQuest, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to March 2023.
Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility and extracted data. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used for quality assessment. The findings of this review are presented using a narrative synthesis.
This review included 14 studies involving 2016 participants. Three out of five studies reported that nurse-led e-health interventions significantly reduced depressive symptoms. Four studies reported significant improvements in stress and self-efficacy after the intervention. Two studies reported significant improvements in anxiety symptoms, self-management ability, and quality of life after the intervention. One study showed that weight gain and physical activity significantly improved after the intervention. Due to the heterogeneity in the included studies, no meta-analysis was conducted.
Nurse-led e-health interventions may be beneficial for improving anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, stress, self-efficacy, weight gain, self-management ability, physical activity, and quality of life in pregnant women.
Nurse-led e-health interventions could provide individualised, economic, interactive, and convenient nursing modes for pregnant women. Rigorous and high-quality evidence confirming the long-term effects of these interventions on pregnant women is necessary.
The patients had no direct involvement in the present study.
PROSPERO registration ID: CRD42023401973
To examine the effectiveness of family-centred interventions among family caregivers.
Family-centred interventions are an emerging form of intervention that can be effective at improving physical and mental health outcomes for patients and family caregivers. To date, no reviews have examined the effectiveness of family-centred interventions for family caregivers.
A systematic review, including a meta-analysis, was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA 2020) checklist.
Seven English and two Chinese electronic databases were compressively searched from the outset to March 2023. Two researchers independently reviewed the abstracts and full texts, extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias independently by using the Cochrane ‘Risk of bias assessment tool’.
This systematic review and meta-analysis included 20 articles. The results of the meta-analysis showed that family-centred interventions could significantly improve caregiver burden (p=0.003), quality of life (p = 0.007), depression (p = 0.0002), and stress (p < 0.0001) but not anxiety or family functioning. According to our subgroup analysis, the family-centred empowerment model (p = 0.009) was superior to the other family intervention (p=0.004) in reducing caregiver burden. Family-centred interventions are more effective at reducing the burden of caregiving on family caregivers of adolescent patients (SMD=−0.79, 95% CI[−1.22,−0.36], p = 0.0003) than on adult patients (SMD=−0.37, 95% CI [−0.61,−0.12], p = 0.004).
Family-centred interventions could enhance family caregivers’ burden, quality of life, stress and depression but had no significant impact on anxiety or family functioning.
Family-centred interventions have the potential to improve the health status and caregiving burden of family caregivers. Rigorous and high-quality evidence is needed to confirm the long-term effects of these interventions on family caregivers.
The protocol has been registered in the PROSPERO international prospective register of systematic reviews (Protocol registration ID: CRD42023453607).