Abstract
Background: The prevalence of postpartum depression is higher among mothers and fathers of preterm infants (Helle et al., 2015) and society spends billions of dollars each year on treating maternal depression (Clark et al., 2019). Most preterm infants spend their first weeks to months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where several professionals, including occupational therapists, provide direct care and caregiver education to support the successful transition out of the NICU and instill confidence and competence in new parents (AOTA, 2018).|Purpose: This critically appraised topic (CAT) focuses on evaluating the effectiveness of caregiver education in improving the emotional well-being of parents of preterm infants admitted to the NICU.|Methods: In this CAT, the authors performed a thorough literature search using databases including CINAHL, APA PsychINFO, PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Cochrane Library. Level I and II studies were analyzed and included in the CAT if they were published in the last 5 years, included NICU-based interventions, included outcomes and measurements related to caregiver well-being, included families of preterm infants in the NICU, and included studies with quantitative outcome measures and methods.|Results: Level I and Level II research completed on parent-based interventions in the NICU revealed mixed evidence for the effectiveness of caregiver education on the emotional well-being of parents of premature infants.