Affiliations:
Faculty of Nursing, University of Hafr Al-Batin, Hafr Al-Batin, Saudi Arabia
This quasi-experimental, time-block controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of a nurse-led, culturally tailored educational program in reducing parental anxiety and caregiver burden among parents of infants admitted to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Egypt. A total of 100 parents were assigned to either an intervention group that received structured, theory-based educational sessions or a control group that received standard care. Validated Arabic versions of the Beck Anxiety Inventory and the Caregiver Burden Scale were administered at baseline, after two weeks, and after three months. Parents in the intervention group showed significantly greater reductions in anxiety and caregiver burden compared with those in the control group, and these improvements were maintained at three months. Regression analysis identified participation in the educational program as the main predictor of improved psychological outcomes. These findings indicate that a structured, nurse-led educational intervention adapted to the local cultural context and based on psychological theory is associated with reduced parental anxiety and caregiver burden in a resource-limited NICU setting. However, the quasi-experimental design limits causal interpretation. Overall, the results highlight the important role of neonatal nurses in providing culturally appropriate psychosocial education and support, and support the integration of such interventions into routine NICU practice to strengthen family-centered care and parental well-being.
Neonatal intensive care, Parental anxiety, Caregiver burden, Nurse-led education, Culturally tailored intervention
https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.01.016
Eltantawy, E. E. E. (2026). The effect of nurse-led, culturally tailored education on parental anxiety and caregiver burden in the neonatal intensive care unit. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 13(1), 154–161. https://doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2026.01.016