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. 2024 Nov 17;16(11):e73872.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.73872. eCollection 2024 Nov.

Impact of Individualized Education on Mothers' Knowledge and Practices in Providing Care for Preterm Babies in Uttarakhand

Suman Rikhari  1 , Rajkumari Sylvia Devi  2 , Vandana Chauhan  3
Affiliations

Impact of Individualized Education on Mothers' Knowledge and Practices in Providing Care for Preterm Babies in Uttarakhand

Suman Rikhari et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Background: Preterm birth is a critical global health concern affecting millions of infants annually. Mothers of preterm babies play a pivotal role in their care but often lack the requisite knowledge and skills to provide optimal support. The study aimed to determine the status of mothers' knowledge and practices regarding the care of preterm babies as well as provide individualized teaching to enhance their performance by improving their knowledge and practice in the care of preterm babies.

Methods: A quasi-experimental equivalent time series design was adopted for this study. A total of 47 mothers of preterm babies were enrolled using the purposive sampling technique. Data were collected using pretested tools such as structured questionnaires on knowledge and practices across various domains of preterm baby care. The data from mothers were collected three times at regular intervals of three days. Each assessment was followed by re-education on preterm baby care.

Results: Most of the mothers (48.9%) were between the age group of 25-30 years and educated up to graduate and above (51.1%). About 87.2% of the mothers had no prior knowledge about preterm baby care. Most of the babies (76.59%) were born between 32 and 37 weeks of gestation. About 63.8% were male babies and weighed between 1500 g and <2500 g (74.47%). Most babies (89.4%) suffered from conditions such as hypoglycemia, hyperbilirubinemia, and respiratory distress syndrome. At baseline, 95.7% of the mothers had average knowledge, which subsequently improved to 100% after teaching preterm baby care (p<0.001). Similarly, 87.23% of mothers had average practices, which improved to a good level (100%) by the final post-test (p<0.001).

Conclusion: Every new mother's knowledge regarding preterm baby care should be assessed. It is very important to teach mothers about the care of preterm babies to empower them to take care of their babies independently. Regular education of mothers significantly improves their knowledge and practices in preterm baby care.

Keywords: care of preterm babies; knowledge and practices; mother; quasi-experiment; teaching.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent for treatment and open access publication was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Swami Rama Himalayan University issued approval SRHU/HIMS/ETHICS/2022/404. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow diagram of participant selection, data collection, and individualized education interventions for preterm infant care
LAMA: leave against medical advice
Figure 2
Figure 2. Domain-wise distribution of mean percentage of practice score of mothers of preterm babies
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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