Aim: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of empathic caring on sleep quality, depression, stress, and social support in women with recurrent miscarriage.
Materials and methods: Sixty-two eligible women were randomly assigned to either the experimental group (n = 31), which received three face-to-face nursing counseling sessions, or the control group (n = 31). Outcome measures included the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Edinburgh Prenatal Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Interpersonal Support Evaluation List.
Results: Paired-sample t-tests revealed that, after receiving nursing counseling, the participants in the experimental group showed significant decreases in stress and depression. However, no significant mean differences were found in the control group between the pretest and the 12-week posttest for any of the four outcome measures.
Conclusion: Clinical healthcare professionals may incorporate empathic caring into health-promotion protocols to assist women with recurrent miscarriage to improve their psychosocial health.
Keywords: Depression; Empathic caring; Nursing counseling; Perceived stress; Recurrent miscarriage.
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