When parents use touch, voice, eye contact, smell, and feeding to connect with their preemie at home for six months, their anxiety and depression stay lower for the whole six months.
Scientific Claim
A home-based integrated sensory stimulation program that combines tactile, auditory, visual, gustatory, and olfactory inputs during feeding improves parental mental health outcomes for up to six months after discharge in preterm infant families, demonstrating sustained benefit beyond typical short-term NICU interventions.
Original Statement
“Added knowledge: The integrated sensory stimulation program can improve parents’ mental health for up to six months after discharge.”
Evidence Quality Assessment
Claim Status
appropriately stated
Study Design Support
Design supports claim
Appropriate Language Strength
definitive
Can make definitive causal claims
Assessment Explanation
The longitudinal RCT design with repeated measures over six months directly supports the claim of sustained benefit. The language 'improves... for up to six months' accurately reflects the data.
Evidence from Studies
Supporting (1)
Effects of home-based integrated sensory stimulation program to preterm infants on parents’ depression and anxiety: a randomized controlled trial
This study found that when parents gently touch, talk to, and interact with their premature babies during feeding at home, both mom and dad feel less anxious and depressed for up to six months after leaving the hospital.