A Mobile Health App (mHealth)-Based Post-NICU Discharge Intervention for Parents of Preterm Infants: A Pilot Study

Area of Science:

• Neonatal care
• mHealth interventions
• Parenting studies

Background:

• Parents of preterm infants face unique challenges post-neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge.
• Parenting self-efficacy and parent-infant attachment are crucial for infant development.
• mHealth interventions offer a potential solution for supporting these parents.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the impact of an mHealth intervention on parenting self-efficacy and attachment in parents of preterm infants.
• To explore the feasibility of wider implementation of such interventions.
• To provide accessible support for parents after NICU discharge.

Main Methods:

• Pilot study with a nonequivalent control group, pretest-posttest design.
• 15 parents in the experimental group received a 1-week mHealth intervention (Todak-Todak app).
• Intervention included educational content, play activities, diary function, and nurse communication.

Main Results:

• Significant improvement in parenting self-efficacy in the experimental group (P = .002).
• No significant change in parenting self-efficacy in the control group (P = .343).
• Attachment scores showed a positive but statistically insignificant trend in the experimental group (P = .068).

Conclusions:

• mHealth interventions are effective in enhancing parenting self-efficacy for parents of preterm infants.
• The study highlights the potential of mHealth for accessible, cost-effective parental support.
• Longer-term studies with larger samples are recommended to validate findings on attachment.