The therapeutic effects of journal writing for parents of PICU patients: A research brief

Purpose: The admission of a critically ill child to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) is well known to be a stressful experience for parents. The overall aim of this study was to explore whether the use of journal writing would be acceptable and feasible to PICU parents as a stress-reducing intervention.

Design and methods: A longitudinal, quasi-experimental two-group study design was conducted with a convenience sample of 28 parents. Experimental group parents were given instructions on how to journal write each day their child was hospitalized, while control group parents received usual care. Data were collected at three evaluation time points.

Results: The response rates at the final time point (6-8 weeks after discharge) were 93% for the control group and 71% for the experimental group. Outcome measure trends were similar for parents in both groups, with most perceiving mild-to-moderate stress from the PICU environment. A significant correlation was found between the perceived stress from the PICU environment and parental traumatic stress symptoms 6-8 weeks postdischarge for the experimental group (Time 1 r = .919, p = .00; Time 2 r = .969, p = .00). The majority of the experimental group parents wrote in their journals daily and found the intervention helpful.

Practice implications: Although further research is warranted, journal writing is a simple-to-do intervention that should be considered for use with future PICU parents.