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

This pilot study investigated the effects of an mHealth-based post-neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) discharge intervention on parenting self-efficacy and attachment among parents of preterm infants and explored its potential for wider implementation.

This study employed a nonequivalent control group pretest and posttest design at a Level IV regional NICU referral center in South Korea. Forty parents of preterm infants were recruited and equally divided into the experimental and control groups. The final analysis included data from 15 parents per group. The experimental group received a 1-week intervention via Todak-Todak, a mobile app providing educational content, developmental play activities, diary function, and interactive communication with NICU nurses. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and paired t -tests were used for data analysis.

Parenting self-efficacy significantly improved in the experimental group ( t = 3.86, P = .002), whereas the control group showed no change ( t = 0.98, P = .343). Although attachment scores increased in the experimental group, they were statistically insignificant ( t = 1.98, P = .068), whereas the control group showed no change ( t = 0.00, P > .999).

Therefore, mHealth-based interventions were effective for fostering parenting self-efficacy among parents of preterm infants. The positive trend observed in parent-infant attachment suggests the need for long-term interventions to verify their impact.

mHealth-based interventions offer practical, accessible, and cost-effective support to parents after NICU discharge. Replication with larger samples and longer durations is warranted to validate its effectiveness and guide integration into structured parental education.