Supporting Rural Women During Pregnancy: Baby BEEP Nurses

Area of Science:

• Maternal Health
• Nursing Interventions
• Telehealth

Background:

• Low-income pregnant women face barriers to accessing social support.
• The Baby Behavioral Educational Enhancement of Pregnancy (Baby BEEP) study aimed to address these barriers.
• Understanding the nature of nursing care in such interventions is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To characterize the nursing care delivered by research nurses in the Baby BEEP study.
• To analyze the telephone social support intervention provided to low-income, pregnant women.
• To explore the application of Peplau's Theory of Interpersonal Relations in this context.

Main Methods:

• Descriptive qualitative study design.
• Utilized Peplau's Theory of Interpersonal Relations for analysis.
• Focused on weekly telephone interactions between nurses and participants.

Main Results:

• Nurses effectively adopted various roles within Peplau's framework.
• The intervention achieved a remarkable participant retention rate.
• Therapeutic nurse-patient relationships were established, indicating a well-received psychosocial support.

Conclusions:

• Telenursing care was well-received by low-income, rural pregnant women.
• The intervention aligned with Peplau's Theory of Interpersonal Relations.
• This model offers a novel approach for supporting vulnerable, hard-to-reach populations.