A qualitative study conducted in China evaluated the psychological effects of COVID-19 on parents of hospitalized neonatal patients, as they tend to endure more stress than the general population (a separate study mentioned in this article (n=307) showed that 22% parents of hospitalized newborns experienced anxiety and 29% had depression. This study, which took place in China and surveyed parents of patients admitted within two weeks of the initial response to COVID, acted to evaluate the psychological needs of parents and propose suggestions to help alleviate their stress. This article identified 5 themes of parents’ needs:

1. Urgent demand for timely up-to-date information on the child’s condition
2. Need for psychological and emotional support
3. Reduction of inconvenience cause by the epidemic outbreak
4. Demand for protective information after discharge
5. Demand for financial support

This study proposed that installing changes in hospitals to tailor medical services to each family would be helpful in fulfilling those needs and alleviating their stress.