Impact of a Nurse-Led Intervention on Depression and Anxiety Among Mothers of Children Admitted to Selected Intensive Care Units: A Quasi-experimental Study

Objective: This study aimed to assess the psychosocial well-being of mothers whose children were admitted to specific ICUs and to examine the impact of the organized nurse-led psychosocial support program on the mental health of these mothers. Methodology: The research utilized a one-group quasi-experimental pretest-posttest framework involving 300 mothers of children placed in the chosen ICUs of Dakshina Kannada district, Karnataka, India. The sampling technique utilized was non-probability convenience sampling. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-42 (DASS-42) was utilized to assess depression and anxiety. Following the pretest evaluation, mothers received a structured, nurse-led psychosocial support program. The tool was also utilized for assessment after the test. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive and inferential statistics. The paired t-test was employed to compare pretest and post-test scores, Pearson’s correlation assessed the relationship between depression and anxiety scores, and the chi-square test evaluated the association between psychosocial well-being and chosen demographic variables. Results: A total of 300 mothers of children admitted to selected ICUs participated in the study. Most mothers were aged 26-35 years, accounting for 185 (61.7%) participants. Before receiving the support package, extremely severe depression was observed among 298 (99.3%) mothers, while severe depression was observed among two (0.7%) mothers. Similarly, all 300 (100.0%) mothers demonstrated extremely severe anxiety. During the post-test assessment, normal depression levels were observed among all 300 (100.0%) mothers. With respect to anxiety, 289 (96.3%) mothers demonstrated normal anxiety levels, whereas 11 (3.7%) mothers had mild anxiety. The average depression score significantly declined from 34.36 ± 2.68 to 4.84 ± 1.71 (t=154.04, p<0.001), whereas the average anxiety score significantly dropped from 34.32 ± 2.58 to 4.57 ± 1.72 (t=165.34, p<0.001). Notable positive correlations were found between depression and anxiety scores in both the pretest (r=0.224, p<0.001) and post-test (r=0.175, p=0.002) evaluations. No significant statistical relationship was observed between initial psychosocial well-being and chosen demographic factors (all p>0.05). Conclusions: The nurse-led structured psychosocial support package was found to be linked to significant reduction in depression and anxiety levels and significant improvements in socio-emotional outcomes for mothers with children admitted to ICUs. The results emphasize the need to integrate structured psychosocial support into routine nursing care to support caregiver well-being and reinforce family-centered care practices.