Parenting a preterm infant in the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) is a profoundly stressful experience, shaped by clinical uncertainty, physical separation and emotional vulnerability. Although stress management strategies—such as counselling, peer support and psychoeducation—are commonly available in NICU settings, little is known about how parents experience these forms of support when they are intended to be culturally sensitive or delivered within diverse cultural contexts. Cultural values, beliefs and practices shape how parents interpret stress and engage with support, highlighting the need to synthesise qualitative evidence on parents’ lived experiences of culturally sensitive stress management strategies during NICU hospitalisation.

This systematic review of qualitative evidence will be conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. A comprehensive search will be undertaken across six databases: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, PsycINFO and Airiti Library. This review will include qualitative studies that examine parents’ experiences, perceptions and meaning-making in relation to stress management strategies that are explicitly culturally sensitive or situated within identifiable cultural contexts in NICU settings. Studies published in English or Chinese between 2014 and 2024 will be eligible. Two reviewers will independently screen studies, assess methodological quality using the JBI critical appraisal checklist and extract data using the standardised JBI data extraction tool. Meta-aggregation will be used to synthesise findings, and the ConQual approach will be applied to assess confidence in the synthesised outputs.

This systematic review of qualitative evidence will synthesise data from previously published studies and does not require formal ethical approval. The review will be conducted and reported in accordance with the JBI methodology and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses 2020 guidelines for systematic reviews. Findings will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal and presentations at national and international conferences on neonatal care, nursing and family-centred healthcare. Target audiences include NICU clinicians, hospital administrators, educators and policymakers interested in integrating culturally responsive approaches into stress management and family support practices.

CRD42022357472.