UpStart Parent Survey-Prenatal: A New Tool for Evaluating Prenatal Education Programs

Area of Science:

• Psychometric evaluation
• Parenting education research
• Maternal and child health

Background:

• Prenatal education programs aim to equip expectant parents with essential knowledge and skills.
• Effective evaluation tools are crucial for assessing the impact of these programs.
• The UpStart Parent Survey - Prenatal was developed to meet this need.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reliability and validity of the UpStart Parent Survey - Prenatal.
• To assess the tool's sensitivity to changes in parenting knowledge and experience over time.
• To determine if survey results differ based on respondent gender or survey format (electronic vs. paper).

Main Methods:

• A psychometric study involving 277 expectant parents (161 mothers, 106 fathers) enrolled in a prenatal education program.
• Utilized a retrospective pretest/posttest design with the UpStart Parent Survey - Prenatal.
• The survey includes scales for Parenting Knowledge, Parenting Experience, Program Satisfaction, and open-ended questions.

Main Results:

• The UpStart Parent Survey - Prenatal demonstrated sensitivity to change, showing significant improvements in parenting knowledge and experience.
• No significant differences were found in results between mothers and fathers.
• Survey results were consistent across both electronic tablet and paper formats.

Conclusions:

• The UpStart Parent Survey - Prenatal shows promise as a reliable and valid instrument for evaluating brief prenatal education programs.
• The tool is suitable for assessing outcomes in general populations of expectant parents.
• The survey is user-friendly and adaptable to different delivery formats.