The effectiveness of structured discharge education on maternal confidence, caring knowledge and growth of premature newborns

Aims.  The aim of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of structured discharge education on maternal confidence and caring knowledge and the growth of premature newborns. Background.  Parents of premature newborns are usually confronted with great difficulties in caring for their babies after discharge. Building maternal confidence and caring knowledge can help mothers reduce such difficulties of caring for their babies after discharge from hospital. Design.  Randomised controlled trial. Methods.  Mothers with premature babies were randomly assigned into experimental (n = 29) and control groups (n = 30) at a medical centre in southern Taiwan. The mothers of both groups had received a questionnaire concerning maternal confidence and caring knowledge at pretest. After the pretest, a structured discharged education programme was provided to the mothers of the experimental group. The control group only received traditional discharge education. Mothers of experimental and control groups again received the questionnaire of maternal confidence and caring knowledge at the day before discharge and one month after discharge. At that time, the body height and body weight of newborns were measured and recorded. Results.  Maternal confidence and caring knowledge of mothers in the experimental group were significantly higher than those of the control group at the day before discharge; however, there were no significant differences between the two groups one month after discharge. Using repeated anova analysis, the time × group interaction was significant for maternal confidence and caring knowledge, indicating that the groups differed significantly in changes in maternal confidence and caring knowledge over the three time points. Conclusions.  Structured discharge education on mothers could significantly increase maternal confidence and caring knowledge at the day before discharge. Furthermore, structured discharge education could significantly increase the percentage of growth on body height of premature newborns. Relevance to clinical practice.  The results could help clinical nurses design appropriate discharge education programmes for mothers of premature newborns.