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Pensar Enfermagem / v.28 n.sup / October 2024
DOI: 10.71861/pensarenf.v28iSup.371
Abstract
Introduction
Pregnancy is a period of transition to parenthood characterized by joy, but also by feelings
of anxiety and stress.1 Anxiety and stress assessment tools allow nurses to detect these
feelings early on during pregnancy, identify needs and plan interventions with the future
parents.
Objective
To identify, in the scientific literature, anxiety and stress assessment tools for future parents,
during pregnancy
Methods
We search databases CINAHL Ultimate ®, MEDLINE Ultimate ®, Cochrane Database of
Systematic Reviews ®, Scopus ®, ScienceDirect ®, Web of Science® and Open access Repositories
in Portugal on 30 April 2024 according to the guidelines issued by the Joana Briggs Institute
(JBI).2 The Participants, Concept and Context (PCC) strategy was used, where the
participants (P) were future parents, the concepts (C) were anxiety, stress and pregnancy
and the context (C) were articles that included quantitative assessment tools. We included
quantitative studies, with no language or time limitations, in order to answer the question:
Which tools are used to assess anxiety and stress in future parents during pregnancy?
Results
We obtained 32 articles comprising 16 instruments for assessing anxiety and stress in future
parents during pregnancy. Of these, ten assess anxiety and six assess stress. The instruments
were mostly applied in all trimesters of pregnancy, but the vast majority of studies focused
on pregnant women in the third trimester.
Conclusion
Research into feelings of anxiety and stress has predominantly been carried out in pregnant
women, and there is little knowledge about their presence in fathers. Of the 16 instruments
mapped, only one has been validated for the Portuguese population, but not for future
fathers during the process of pregnancy thus, it is important to fill this gap with further
research.
Keywords
Anxiety; Patient Health Questionnaire; Pregnancy; Psychological Stress; Risk Assessment.
References
1. Philpott LF, Savage E, FitzGerald S, Leahy-Warren P. Anxiety in fathers in the perinatal
period: A systematic review. Midwifery [Internet]. 2019 Sep [cited 2024 mai 9]; 76:54-101.
Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2019.05.013
2. Tricco AC, Lillie E, Zarin W, O’Brien KK, Colquhoun H, Levac D, et al. PRISMA
Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR): Checklist and Explanation. Annals of
Internal Medicine. 2018 Sep 4 [cited 2024 mai 9];169(7):467–73. Available from:
https://doi.org/10.7326/M18-0850
Anxiety and Stress Assessment Tools During
Pregnancy: a Scoping Review
Inês Tinta1
orcid.org/0000-0000-0000-0000
Maria Helena Presado2
orcid.org/0000-0002-6852-7875
Sandra Risso3
orcid.org/0000-0001-6655-8347
1 Master’s student in Maternal and Obstetric Health
Nursing; Nursing School of Lisbon (ESEL), Lisbon,
Portugal.
2 PhD. Department of Maternal and Obstetric Health
Nursing; Centre for Research, Innovation and
Development in Nursing (CIDNUR), Nursing School
of Lisbon (ESEL), Lisbon, Portugal.
3 PhD student. Department of Maternal and Obstetric
Health Nursing; Centre for Research, Innovation and
Development in Nursing (CIDNUR), Nursing School
of Lisbon (ESEL), Lisbon, Portugal.
Corresponding author:
Inês Tinta
E-mail: i.tinta@campus.esel.pt
