The process in-between: Parents' perceptions about how practitioners promote the outcomes of the Incredible Years Basic program.

Practitioners are recognized as one of the key components that make parenting interventions meaningful and helpful to families, and the impact of practitioners' skills on the outcomes of parenting interventions has been consistently recognized in research. However, the mechanisms and ongoing processes through which the practitioners' actions and skills may impact parental engagement and other outcomes remain unknown. This qualitative study explored parents' perceptions about the processes through which specific practitioners' skills contribute to the outcomes of the Incredible Years Basic Parent Program (IYPP). Twenty-four Portuguese parents who had completed the IYPP were interviewed in four focus groups, and the data were analyzed through thematic analysis. Practitioners' skills were perceived by parents as having an impact on their engagement in the program, their process of change, and their interpersonal relationships. Practitioners were perceived to demonstrate their influence in the intervention process through six different roles: the roles of a confidant, a positive coach, a partner, a maestro, a tailor, and a congruent person. This study reinforces the prominent role of practitioners in enabling parental outcomes of an evidence-based parenting program and suggests that more attention should be paid to continuing supervision and other professional development processes.

Mind Yourself So You Can Mind Me; The Role of Parental Behaviour in Perinatal Death on the Surviving Sibling's Grief.

Children's grief, in perinatal loss, can be misunderstood and overlooked. Parental behaviour while mourning infant loss and parental ability to respond to their own grief has a crucial role in the child's grief. This study aimed to explore parental behaviour as a determining factor in siblings' grief following perinatal death. Six mothers and two fathers experiencing perinatal loss were interviewed about their perception of the child's experience of perinatal death. Thematic analysis allowed for identifying of relevant themes. The main themes related to parents' expression of grief, insight and understanding of their children's grief and communicating the death/anticipated death with their surviving children. Findings showed that children seek out information on their deceased sibling and need supportive parents to guide them through their grief. Our study highlights that supporting parents in their grief is a key factor for a healthy grieving process in children and must be considered when supporting families in perinatal death.

A systematic review of standardised tools used in perinatal death review programmes.

INTRODUCTION: Reducing preventable perinatal deaths is the focus of perinatal death surveillance and response programmes. Standardised review tools can help identify modifiable factors in perinatal deaths. AIM: This systematic review aimed to identify, compare, and appraise perinatal mortality review tools (PMRTs) in upper-middle to high-income countries. METHODS: Four major scientific databases were searched for publications relating to perinatal death reviews. There were no restrictions on date, study, or publication type. Professional websites for each country were searched for relevant material. The Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation Health Systems (AGREE-HS) checklist was used for quality appraisal of each tool. A narrative synthesis was used to describe and compare tools. FINDINGS: Ten PMRTs were included. Five PMRTs were from high-income countries, four from upper-middle income countries and one was designed for use in a global context. The structure, content, and quality of each PMRT varied. Each tool collected information about the antepartum, intrapartum, and neonatal periods and a section to classify perinatal deaths using a standardised classification system. All tools reviewed the care provided. Five tools included recommendation development for changes to clinical care. Four tools mentioned parent involvement in the review process. For quality appraisal, one review tool scored "high quality", six scored "moderate quality" and two scored "poor quality". CONCLUSION: There is little standardisation when it comes to PMRTs. Guidance on structuring PMRTs in a standardised way is needed. Recommendation development from a review is important to highlight changes to care required to reduce preventable perinatal deaths.

Pregnant people's views and knowledge on prenatal screening for fetal trisomy in the absence of a national screening program.

Multiple non-invasive prenatal tests (NIPT) are available to screen for risk of fetal trisomy, however, there is no national prenatal screening program in Republic of Ireland. This study aimed to analyze pregnant people's opinions on availability, cost, and knowledge of NIPT for fetal aneuploidy. An anonymous questionnaire on prenatal screening tests and termination of pregnancy was distributed to patients attending antenatal clinics at a tertiary hospital. Descriptive analyses and chi-squared tests were completed. Among respondents, 62% (200/321) understood the scope of prenatal screening tests, with 77% (251/326) and 76% (245/323) correctly interpreting low- and high-risk test results, respectively. Only 26% (83/319) of participants had heard of NIPT. Chi-square tests showed a higher proportion of these people were ≥40 years old (p-value, <0.001), had post-graduate education (p-value, <0.001), or attended private clinics (p-value <0.001). Over 91% (303/331) of participants said every pregnant person should be offered prenatal screening tests for aneuploidy and 88% (263/299) believed these should be free. While pregnant Irish individuals have reasonable understanding of screening test interpretation, most were unaware of screening options. Additionally, participants' views on availability and associated cost of tests show the need for a national prenatal screening program, including education on fetal aneuploidy. These findings have relevance for countries without screening policies and are pertinent for broader maternity services.

Clinical practice guidelines for the antenatal management of dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: This review aimed to identify guidelines with recommendations applicable to the antenatal management of dichorionic diamniotic twin pregnancies within high-income countries, appraise their methodological quality, and discuss the similarities and variability across guidelines. METHOD: A systematic literature review of electronic databases was performed. Manual searches of guideline repositories and websites of professional organisations were performed to identify additional guidelines. The protocol for this systematic review was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42021248586, 25 June 2021). AGREE II and AGREE-REX tools were applied to assess the quality of eligible guidelines. A narrative and thematic synthesis described and compared the guidelines and their recommendations. RESULTS: Twenty-four guidelines were included, from which 483 recommendations were identified across 4 international organisations and 12 countries. Guidelines addressed eight themes and recommendations were classified accordingly: chorionicity and dating (103 recommendations), fetal growth (105 recommendations), termination of pregnancy (12 recommendations), fetal death (13 recommendations), fetal anomalies (65 recommendations), antenatal care (65 recommendations), preterm labour (56 recommendations) and birth (54 recommendations). Guidelines showed significant variability in recommendations, with conflicting recommendations regarding non-invasive preterm testing, definitions surrounding selective fetal growth restriction, screening for preterm labour and the timing of birth. Guidelines lacked a focus on standard antenatal management of DCDA twins, management of discordant fetal anomaly and single fetal demise. CONCLUSIONS: Specific guidance for dichorionic diamniotic twins is overall indistinct and access to guidance regarding the antenatal management of these pregnancies is currently difficult. Management of discordant fetal anomaly or single fetal demise needs greater consideration.

Discharge Age and Weight for Very Preterm Infants in Six Countries: 2012-2020.

BACKGROUND: Postmenstrual age for surviving infants without congenital anomalies born at 24-29 weeks' gestational age from 2005 to 2018 in the USA increased 8 days, discharge weight increased 316 grams, and median discharge weight z-score increased 0.19 standard units. We asked whether increases were observed in other countries. METHODS: We evaluated postmenstrual age, weight, and weight z-score at discharge of surviving infants without congenital anomalies born at 24-29 weeks' gestational age admitted to Vermont Oxford Network member hospitals in Austria, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA from 2012 to 2020. RESULTS: After adjustment, the median postmenstrual age at discharge increased significantly in Austria (3.6 days, 99% CI [1.0, 6.3]), Italy (4.0 days [2.3, 5.6]), and the USA (5.4 days [5.0, 5.8]). Median discharge weight increased significantly in Austria (181 grams, 99% CI [95, 267]), Ireland (234 [143, 325]), Italy (133 [83, 182]), and the USA (207 [194, 220]). Median discharge weight z-score increased in Ireland (0.24 standard units, 99% CI [0.12, 0.36]) and the USA (0.15 [0.13, 0.16]). Discharge on human milk increased in Italy, Switzerland, and the UK, while going home on cardiorespiratory monitors decreased in Austria, Ireland, and USA and going home on oxygen decreased in Ireland. CONCLUSIONS: In this international cohort of neonatal intensive care units, postmenstrual discharge age and weight increased in some, but not all, countries. Processes of care at discharge did not change in conjunction with age and weight increases.

Bereaved parents involvement in maternity hospital perinatal death review processes: 'Nobody even thought to ask us anything'.

INTRODUCTION: The death of a baby is devastating for parents, families and staff involved. Involving bereaved parents in their baby's care and in the maternity hospital perinatal death review can help parents manage their bereavement and plan for the future. In Ireland, bereaved parents generally have not been involved in this review process. The aim of our study was to assess parents' perception of how they may be appropriately involved in the maternity hospital perinatal death review in ways that benefit them and the review process itself. METHODS: Bereaved parents (n = 20) in Ireland were invited to take part in semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis was carried out on the interview transcripts. RESULTS: Four main themes were identified based on the participants' views and opinions on how they experienced the review process and how they feel this process may be improved. The themes reflect the journey of the parents through the different stages of the review process: Throughout process; On leaving the hospital; Interaction with the hospital 'waiting in limbo'; Review itself. Identified subthemes highlighted essential aspects of this process and care provided to parents. For the parents, open, honest communication with staff, as well as having a key hospital contact was essential. Parents wished to provide feedback on their experience and wanted to be included in the review of their baby's death, in a way that was sensitive to their needs and the hospital's schedule. CONCLUSION: A respectful, flexible system that allows bereaved parents' involvement in their baby's perinatal death review and is tailored to their needs is essential. A collaborative process between staff and parents can highlight clinical areas in need of change, enhance lessons learned, improve bereavement services and may prevent future perinatal deaths. PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Bereaved parents were interviewed for this study.

Critical care in obstetrics: Clinical audit in the Republic of Ireland, 2014-2016.

INTRODUCTION: Admission to an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in obstetrics is often used as a proxy for maternal near miss/severe maternal morbidity (MNM/SMM) events. Understanding incidence and management of pregnant or postpartum patients requiring critical care (CC) is thus important for continued improvement of maternity care. This study aims to describe provision of critical care in obstetrics in the Republic of Ireland. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The national clinical audit on critical care included 15 of 19 maternity units in Ireland (2014-2016). 960 pregnant or postpartum (within 42 days) individuals who required CC were included. Data were reported on all cases requiring level 2 or level 3 CC. We calculated basic descriptive statistics for diagnosis and process of care variables, and compared characteristics of women requiring level 2 care to those requiring level 3. Outcomes included diagnoses necessitating critical care; additional complications; level of care required; care process outcomes such as length of stay, consultation with non-obstetric specialties, location of maternal critical care, and neonatal care provision. RESULTS: Overall, the rate of critical care in obstetrics for these hospitals was 1 in 131 live births; 900 of the 960 cases required level 2 care only. Hypertensive disorders contributed to the need for critical care for 1 in 242; hemorrhage, 1 in 422; and infections, 1 in 926. A substantial minority (15.7%) had more than one diagnosis, accounting for 40% of level 3 care. Serious complications were rare (eg, hysterectomy, 1 in 3846). Parity, hospital size, and identification as high-risk antenatally (<50% cases) were associated with requiring level 3 care. Critical care was provided in multiple locations, including ICUs, HDUs, and operating theatres. Only 23.8% of patients received CC in an ICU, suggesting ICU admission is not an ideal method for identifying severe maternal morbidity. CONCLUSIONS: We reported rates of critical care admission and primary diagnoses within the range of other published estimates, but huge variability exists in the literature, and within our data. ICU admission in and of itself iss not a reliable proxy for having received level 2 or 3 obstetric critical care in Ireland.

Psychosocial and psychiatric factors preceding death by suicide: A case-control psychological autopsy study involving multiple data sources.

BACKGROUND: A range of factors including mental disorders and adverse life events can increase the risk of suicide. The objectives of this study were to examine psychosocial and psychiatric factors and service engagement among suicide decedents compared with living controls. METHODS: A case-control study using multiple sources was conducted. Information on 132 consecutive cases of suicide was drawn from coronial files, and interviews were carried out with 35 family informants and 53 living controls. GPs completed questionnaires for 60 suicide cases and 27 controls. RESULTS: The majority (83.3%) of suicide decedents had contacted a GP in the year prior to death, while 23.3% had 10 or more consultations during the year prior to death. Half of suicide decedents had a history of self-harm. Suicide cases were significantly more likely than controls to have a psychiatric diagnosis (60% vs. 18.5%) and a depressive illness (36.7% vs. 14.8%). Over one-quarter of suicide decedents had been treated as a psychiatric inpatient. DISCUSSION: Primary care providers should be supported to deliver multidisciplinary interventions to engage, assess, and treat patients at risk of suicide, targeting those who present very frequently, those with a history of self-harm or substance misuse, and those with psychological presentations.

Do Parents Perceive Practitioners to Have a Specific Role in Change? A Longitudinal Study Following Participation in an Evidence-Based Program.

Little attention has been given to the role of practitioners in evidence-based parenting programs and to the evaluation that parents make of their importance in the process of change. This study aims to explore the role that parents assign to the facilitators of the Incredible Years (IY) program in enabling long-term life changes, as well as the association between parents' evaluation of the practitioners' skills and specific changes perceived after the intervention. In this longitudinal study, we applied 1 survey to 80 community parents who had participated in an IY group 2 years before, and we retrieved archival data to assess changes in parents' ratings of sense of competence and in children's behaviors immediately after the end of the intervention. Two years after the intervention, parents perceived significant improvements, especially in their parenting and their children's behaviors, and they recognized that their IY practitioners had played a significant role in these life changes. Parents who attributed a greater role to the practitioners' skills reported a greater number of improvements in parental sense of competence and in children's behaviors. The practitioners' skills relating more broadly to these specific changes are the practitioners' sensitivity and flexibility towards parents' needs and the practitioners' ability to clearly share knowledge with parents. The practitioner's assigned role when implementing an evidence-based parenting program seems to go far beyond the mere conveyance of the program's specific contents and methods and deserves to be researched further.

Perinatal mortality audits and reporting of perinatal deaths: systematic review of outcomes and barriers.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal deaths are a devastating experience for all families and healthcare professionals involved. Audit of perinatal mortality (PNM) is essential to better understand the factors associated with perinatal death, to identify key deficiencies in healthcare provision and should be utilised to improve the quality of perinatal care. However, barriers exist to successful audit implementation and few countries have implemented national perinatal audit programs. CONTENT: We searched the PubMed, EMBASE and EBSCO host, including Medline, Academic Search Complete and CINAHL Plus databases for articles that were published from 1st January 2000. Articles evaluating perinatal mortality audits or audit implementation, identifying risk or care factors of perinatal mortality through audits, in middle and/or high-income countries were considered for inclusion in this review. Twenty articles met inclusion criteria. Incomplete datasets, nonstandard audit methods and classifications, and inadequate staff training were highlighted as barriers to PNM reporting and audit implementation. Failure in timely detection and management of antenatal maternal and fetal conditions and late presentation or failure to escalate care were the most common substandard care factors identified through audit. Overall, recommendations for perinatal audit focused on standardised audit tools and training of staff. Overall, the implementation of audit recommendations remains unclear. SUMMARY: This review highlights barriers to audit practices and emphasises the need for adequately trained staff to participate in regular audit that is standardised and thorough. To achieve the goal of reducing PNM, it is crucial that the audit cycle is completed with continuous re-evaluation of recommended changes.

Prenatal stress, health, and health behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic: An international survey.

BACKGROUND: Pregnant women's stress, mental and physical health, and health behaviours can have important implications for maternal and child health outcomes. AIM: To examine pregnant women's levels of stress, mental and physical health, and health behaviours during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was conducted online, with recruitment and data collection occurring between 16/6/20 and 17/7/20. Participants were pregnant women recruited via online pregnancy/parenting communities. Participants self-reported their levels of general stress, pregnancy-specific stress and COVID-19 related stress, mental and physical health, general health behaviours, and COVID-19 related health behaviours. FINDINGS: 573 pregnant women participated in the survey. Participants were most commonly resident in the United States (42.6%, n=243), Ireland (41.2%, n=235) or the United Kingdom (10%, n=57). The majority (80.0%, n=457) were married and educated to degree level or above (79.3, n=453). Pregnant women reported high levels of pregnancy-specific and COVID-19-related stress, and low levels of mental and physical health, during the pandemic. Encouragingly, pregnant women in this study generally reported high levels of adherence to public health advice and pregnancy health behaviours. Stress and general mental health outcomes were best predicted by well-being factors (including stress and social support). Health impairing behaviours (e.g. poor diet) were predicted by both well-being and demographic factors. DISCUSSION: Interventions targeting pregnancy- and pandemic-specific stress at the population level will be essential to support mental health and minimise adverse outcomes for women and children during the pandemic.

The impact of COVID-19 on pregnant womens' experiences and perceptions of antenatal maternity care, social support, and stress-reduction strategies.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on maternity care, supports and women's mental health. AIM: The aim of this study was to assess pregnant women's satisfaction with antenatal care and social support and to examine stress-reduction strategies women used during the pandemic. METHODS: An online survey was conducted between June and July 2020. Pregnant women, aged over 18 years were recruited. The survey included closed and open-ended questions to assess women's perceptions and satisfaction with their antenatal care, social support, and stress-reduction strategies. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis were used for quantitative analyses; qualitative content analysis was used for open-ended questions. FINDINGS: 573 pregnant women completed the survey. Women reported low levels of social support which was predicted by women's mental health and demographic factors and was related to public health and maternity service restrictions. Women reported that restrictions implemented in the maternity services limited their face-to face interactions with healthcare professionals and meant their partners could not attend antenatal appointments or support them in the postpartum period in the maternity setting. The lack of information on COVID-19 and pregnancy meant women had greater uncertainty about pregnancy and birth. DISCUSSION: Our findings indicate how the lack of access to antenatal care and reduced perceived social support as a result of the restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially intensifies pregnancy specific stress. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need for the provision of supportive care, both formally and informally, particularly with women who may be more vulnerable during a pandemic.

A protocol for a systematic review of standardised tools used in perinatal death review programmes.

Introduction: Perinatal mortality encompasses stillbirths and early neonatal deaths. A perinatal death surveillance and response cycle has been recommended by the World Health Organization for use in the review of perinatal deaths. The main components of the cycle include identifying and reporting perinatal deaths, and reviewing the deaths, including potentially modifiable factors, in order to measure and improve quality of care provided to women and infants. There is no consensus on the best way to design, implement and conduct perinatal death reviews. This systematic review aims to identify standardised tools that are used to review perinatal deaths.  Objectives: The primary aim of this protocol is to describe methodology for a systematic search of the literature to identify standardised tools that are used to review perinatal deaths in upper-middle to high-income countries. Review tools may include standardised checklists, forms, frameworks or other structured documents used to review perinatal deaths. Review tools will be appraised to see if they incorporate the identification of modifiable factors in perinatal deaths and establish recommendations for improvements to quality of care provided. Methods: A systematic review of the literature will be performed to identify peer-reviewed publications and grey literature describing the use of perinatal mortality review tools without date restrictions. The eligibility of review tools for inclusion will be based on inclusion and exclusion criteria applied to the SPIDER framework. Data will be extracted based on the structure and content of included review tools, and the tools will be appraised using the Appraisal of Guidelines Research and Evaluation Health Systems (AGREE-HS) instrument. Conclusion: This systematic review protocol for identifying and appraising standardised perinatal mortality review tools may help to establish the optimal way to structure a standardised review process for perinatal mortality in middle- to high-income countries. PROSPERO registration: CRD42022326877.

National perinatal mortality audits and resultant initiatives in four countries.

BACKGROUND: It is important to examine perinatal deaths as part of a national mortality audit to identify risk factors. Implementing and re-evaluating recommendations from perinatal mortality audits completes the audit cycle, preventing similar deaths in the future. Lack of implementation results in recommendations recurring. OBJECTIVES: In this study we examine national perinatal mortality audits' methodology in four high-income countries (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland, Netherlands) to highlight different approaches taken. We compare the recommendations made in these audits' reports over the last five years, as well as review national initiatives and programmes addressing them. STUDY DESIGN: This study is an integrative review where two comprehensive literature searches were completed: on established national perinatal mortality audits in high-income countries; and on national initiatives addressing recommendations from these audits. Content analysis of the audits' recommendations was performed organising them into themes according to topics these focused on. RESULTS: Though the methodology of the national perinatal mortality audits varied, all four were state-funded and had standardised online data collection forms to report deaths. The recommendations themes included: Raising public awareness of perinatal mortality risk factors, Detection of fetal growth restriction, Prevention of preterm birth, Resources for data collection and review. Only the UK had various initiatives addressing perinatal mortality risk factors directly. New Zealand included stakeholders in the audit recommendations' development and provided updates on their implementation. The Netherlands developed a programme for audit recommendation implementation. Ireland created a group which is progressing some recommendations from the audit. CONCLUSIONS: National perinatal mortality audits are important in identifying contributory factors and making recommendations to address these. Recurring recommendations suggest a failure to resolve the identified issues. This study shows how some challenges are common to high-income countries' audits, highlighting the need for shared learning of successful initiatives.

Governance of maternity services: Effects on the management of perinatal deaths and bereavement services.

BACKGROUND: External inquiries are carried out following adverse maternal/perinatal events, to examine the care provided and make recommendations to improve it. Clinical governance ensures that organisations promote high-quality care and are accountable for the care they provide, thus contributing to its improvement. OBJECTIVE: This study examined how Irish perinatal bereavement services and the management of perinatal deaths (including events leading up to the deaths) were affected by developments in maternity services governance as described in ten Irish enquiry reports published over 14 years (2005-18). METHODS: Two clinicians collected data from the ten enquiry reports by using a specifically designed review tool. Thematic analysis was carried out, following the steps of familiarising, coding, identifying, grouping and revising themes. FINDINGS: Seven main themes were identified: workforce, leadership, management of risk, work environment, hospital oversight, national documents, data collection. Eight reports noted shortcomings in staffing levels, with a workforce that was under-resourced, and at times carried excessive workloads. The absence of 24/7 midwifery-shift leaders in maternity units resulted in problems with care at times not being escalated appropriately. The absence of a widely-owned, understood strategic plan for the management of the maternity services was mentioned in the reports from 2013. Conclusions and implications for practice The National Bereavement Care Standards were published in 2016 to address deficiencies identified in the enquiry reports and to standardise perinatal bereavement care across Irish maternity units. Though the first Irish Maternity Strategy (2016-26) was published in 2016, its implementation is incomplete. Inconsistencies remain in the definition and collection of national perinatal data, as well as concerns regarding the lack of local audit activities on pregnancy outcomes. Greater focus on hospital oversight, implementation of national documents and reliable data collection is required. To be effective and initiate positive changes in clinical services, documents such as incident reviews, national strategies and national reports including inquiries, need to include realistic recommendations with clear timelines and responsibilities for implementation.

Termination of pregnancy: Staff knowledge and training.

OBJECTIVES: In January 2019, Termination of Pregnancy (TOP) services were introduced in Ireland allowing the termination of pregnancies < 12 weeks. This study aimed to investigate staff knowledge and training on early TOP and views regarding challenges to successful integration of the service within a large maternity hospital. STUDY DESIGN: A questionnaire, modelled on interim clinical guidance and previous studies on the topic, was distributed to clinical staff in a large maternity hospital in 2019. Descriptive analysis and a hierarchical multiple regression were performed using SPSS. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Levels of knowledge on TOP among staff, training received and main challenges to the service. RESULTS: Of the total of participants (n = 133), just one-quarter correctly answered all questions on the current legislation and 63.2% on complications. Male gender, education level (diploma/certificate), and age (<30 years) negatively contributed to overall knowledge. 'Medical' job position positively contributed to knowledge levels. Most respondents (88%) had not received training prior to introduction of TOP services. Of those who did, few (9%) believed it to be sufficient. The main identified challenges to the service were lack of training and education, staffing and resources. CONCLUSIONS: Low levels of knowledge among staff suggests that training is required to ensure the provision of a safe and effective TOP service. Our findings indicate that updated and clearer clinical guidance on TOP services is also needed.

Development and evaluation of TEARDROP - a perinatal bereavement care training programme for healthcare professionals.

Appropriate perinatal bereavement care can benefit bereaved parents and reduce further distress. Poor training can impact healthcare professionals (HCPs) at a personal and professional-level. HCPs have reported poor preparation to care for bereaved parents. High-quality perinatal bereavement care training is essential. This study describes the TEARDROP workshop for perinatal bereavement care training, an evaluation of its pilot and first workshop, and the teaching methods applied. The TEARDROP workshop was created in line with the Irish National Bereavement Standards, and based on the SCORPIO model of teaching, offering a participant-centred teaching. Both pilot session and workshop were held in a tertiary maternity hospital. Paper-based anonymous questionnaires were used to evaluate these sessions. Overall, participants were highly satisfied with the workshop. The level of information and quality of teaching in the pilot and workshop scored very high. Most participants stated not being adequately prepared to communicate or care for bereaved parents. The pre-workshop evaluation showed that only 8% of participants received prior training on discussing post-mortems with bereaved parents. Participants (100%) would recommend the workshop be available nationally and would recommend it to a colleague. To our knowledge this is one of few participant-centred perinatal bereavement care training for maternity staff in Ireland. The workshop has been well received and results highlighted the relevance and importance of the TEARDROP programme for HCPs. Adequate training for all maternity staff is essential and TEARDROP has the potential to impact on the quality of bereavement care provided in Irish maternity units.

Therapist Factors Matter: A Systematic Review of Parent Interventions Directed at Children's Behavior Problems.

The present review systematically explored research examining the relationship between therapist-related factors and the outcomes of parent interventions directed at children's behavior problems. A systematic search of the literature was conducted with online scientific databases, parenting programs, web sites, and bibliographic references of the selected articles, according to PRISMA guidelines. A total of 24 quantitative studies met the inclusion criteria. Although some methodological limitations were identified with respect to the measurement of therapist factors, the reviewed research strongly suggests that the therapist plays a critical role in parent interventions directed at behavior problems. In particular, many parent outcomes are found to be related to the parent-therapist alliance, the therapist's fidelity to the intervention, specific therapist's in-session actions, and the therapist's personal variables. The parent-therapist alliance and therapist fidelity to the intervention consistently relate to changes in parenting practices, and alliance additionally relates to fewer perceived barriers to participation in treatment, more treatment acceptability, and greater parenting satisfaction and self-efficacy. In addition, specific in-session therapist interpersonal actions relate to parents' engagement and satisfaction, while both the therapist's interpersonal actions and more active skills relate to parent change. Therapist's personal variables have been scarcely or poorly studied to date, but the results found justify the need to develop further research in this area. In conclusion, more attention should be given to the role of the therapist when implementing parenting programs directed at behavior problems, and more and better research is needed that can overcome the methodological limitations identified.

La presente revisión exploró de forma sistemática las investigaciones que examinam la relación entre los factores relacionados con el terapeuta y los resultados de intervenciones para padres de niños con problemas de conducta. Se realizó una búsqueda sistemática de la bibliografía con bases de datos científicas en línea, sitios web de programas de entrenamiento para padres y referencias bibliográficas de los artículos seleccionados, de acuerdo con las pautas de PRISMA. Un total de 24 estudios cuantitativos reunieron los criterios de inclusión. Aunque se identificaron algunas limitaciones metodológicas con respecto a la medición de los factores del terapeuta, la investigación analizada sugiere marcadamente que el terapeuta desempeña un papel crítico en las intervenciones dirigidas a padres de niños con problemas de conducta. En particular, muchos resultados de los padres se encuentran relacionados con la alianza entre los padres y el terapeuta, la fidelidad del terapeuta a la intervención, las acciones específicas del terapeuta dentro de la sesión y las variables personales del terapeuta. La alianza entre los padres y el terapeuta y la fidelidad del terapeuta a la intervención se relacionan constantemente con los cambios en las prácticas parentales, y la alianza además se relaciona con menos obstáculos percibidos para la participación en el tratamiento, una mayor aceptabilidad de lo mismo y una mayor satisfacción y autoeficacia de los padres. Además, las acciones interpersonales específicas del terapeuta dentro de la sesión se relacionan con la participación y la satisfacción de los padres, mientras que tanto las acciones interpersonales del terapeuta como las habilidades más activas se relacionan con el cambio de las praticas parentales. Hasta la fecha, las variables personales del terapeuta se han estudiado poco o deficientemente, pero los resultados encontrados justifican la necesidad de desarrollar la investigación en esta área. Para concluir, se debe prestar más atención al papel del terapeuta a la hora de implementar programas de entrenamiento para padres de niños con problemas de conducta, y se necesitan más y mejores investigaciones que puedan superar las limitaciones metodológicas identificadas.