Development of an educational module for mothers of premature infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit in Iran: a narrative review

Introduction: Mothers of preterm infants, as the primary caregiver, need to learn more about their infants and the complex environment of neonatal intensive care. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the educational module for the mothers of premature infants admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Iran. Method: The online databases (SID, Magiran, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Elsevier, and Scopus) were accessed from 2009 to 2019, using the keywords ‘mother’, ‘neonatal intensive care’, ‘program’, ‘intervention education,’ and ‘empowerment’. In general, 275 articles were retrieved and a total of 12 studies was retained for appraisal, after screening the titles, abstracts, and full-text reviews. Finally, the qualitative module validity and face validity were determined, using the opinions of 11 experts and 10 mothers of premature infants, respectively. Results: Eight themes were identified based on thematic analysis, including orientation with the NICU, characteristics of premature infants, premature infants’ problems, needs of premature infants, preparation of premature infant’s environment, behavioral symptoms of premature infants, the positioning of premature infants, and preparation for discharge and measures were developed after the discharge of the premature infant. Considering all acquired interventions for all items, a content validity ratio of 0.59 and content validity index of 0.79 based on the opinions of experts at two levels of specialists and mothers. Conclusion: Due to the lack of enough nursing staff and a high workload in the NICU, this review offers nurses to spend less time educating mothers and focusing more on premature infants. Moreover, supporting mothers can help to provide better care. The educational module can help nurses and mothers have more effective care for premature infants.