Background of the Study: Premature births are responsible for the highest number of
admissions to Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs). The primary reason for newborn
mortality is preterm birth. Significant contributing factors to neonatal death include being
born small for gestational age and having low birth weight. Infants delivered prior to the 37th
week of gestation are classified as premature, often referred to as "preemies." The majority of
premature births, over 80%, occur between the 32nd and 37th weeks of gestation, known as
moderate to late preterm births. Tragically, many of these infants lose their lives due to a lack
of basic essential care, such as maintaining warmth and providing feeding support.. Aim: The
aim of the study was to asses the knowledge of the parents regarding care of preterm babies.
Material and Methods: A preliminary, single-group pretest and post-test study was carried
out to evaluate the understanding of parents with preterm infants regarding the care of such
babies. This research was conducted with a sample of 60 parents whose preterm babies were
admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. The participants were chosen through purposivesampling, and they were provided with informed consent and an informational sheet
explaining the research study in detail. Data was collected using a self-structured knowledge
questionnaire, and an educational intervention program was administered following the
pretest. A post-test was conducted after seven days using the same questionnaire to measure
the effectiveness of the educational intervention program. Result: When examining the
frequency and percentage distribution, it becomes evident that the largest proportion of
parents (61.7%) fell within the age range of 20 to 25 years. Almost 53 individuals (93.3%)
among the respondents were mothers of preterm infants. Approximately 85.0% (51) of the
participants identified as Hindu in terms of their religion, and 95.0% (57) of them had
received only primary education. In relation to family structure, an equal number of
participants, 50%, were from nuclear and joint families, respectively. The majority, 58.3%
(35), of preterm babies were born during the 31-32 weeks of gestation. Among the preterm
babies, 26 of them had a birth weight ranging from 1001 to 1500 grams. It was found that the
mean value was 13.77, median score was 3.175, maximum score was 19, minimum score was
6, range of score was 13 and mean percentage was 45.90 %. It was found that the mean value
was 25.60, median score was 26, maximum score was 28, minimum score was 21, range of
score was 7 & mean percentage was 85.30 %. In the initial assessment of pretest knowledge,
40 individuals (66.7%) were categorized as having inadequate knowledge, while 20
individuals (33.3%) demonstrated moderate knowledge. No individuals were found to possess
adequate knowledge (0%). In the follow-up post-test knowledge assessment, none of the
individuals exhibited inadequate knowledge (0%), 3 individuals (5%) displayed moderate
adequate knowledge, and 57 individuals (95%) exhibited adequate knowledge. The computed
t-value (25.172) exceeds the tabulated value (2.00) at a significance level of 0.05.
Consequently, it can be concluded that the educational intervention program effectively
improved preterm baby care, thus confirming the research hypothesis. No significant
association was observed between the score levels and other demographic variables, as the
calculated chi-square values were lower than the table values at a significance level of 0.05..
Conclusion: The results of the study indicate that there is no noteworthy correlation between
the initial knowledge level assessed before the educational intervention and certain
demographic factors among parents with preterm babies in the NICU. However, the post-test
knowledge scores showed a significant enhancement following the educational intervention
program, confirming its effectiveness in augmenting the knowledge of parents with preterm
babies. As a result, the hypothesis H2 was supported and accepted.
Keywords: Effectiveness, Knowledge, Educational Intervention program, Preterm bab, NICU
Publication date: 15/12/2023
https://ijbpas.com/pdf/2023/December/MS_IJBPAS_2023_DECEMBER_SPCL_1026.pdf
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https://doi.org/10.31032/IJBPAS/2023/12.12.1026
