The literature agrees on the impact of post-traumatic stress symptoms in parents of seriously ill children but there is less clarity about the real extent and gender differences of this psychopathological risk. The recent Covid-19 outbreak highlighted new burdens for researchers on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and clear evidence-based knowledge on this issue is timely needed .
In this review, we present a synthesis of the updated evidence on PTSD rates in parents of children with severe diseases.
We also aim to try to understand if research in this field has been refined over time with the long-term intent to better face the new challenges of Covid-19 in the paediatric field.
Studies were included if they assessed PTSD in parents of children diagnosed with physical illnesses.