Supporting Home Care of Turkish Premature Infants: A Mobile Application Development Study

Area of Science:

• Neonatal Care
• Mobile Health (mHealth)
• Health Education

Background:

• Premature infant care presents unique challenges for mothers, particularly during the transition to home.
• Effective home care requires comprehensive knowledge and practical skills for managing infant health, nutrition, and development.
• Existing resources may not adequately address the specific cultural and linguistic needs of diverse populations, such as Turkish mothers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate "PreBaby," a mobile application tailored to the needs of Turkish mothers caring for premature infants at home.
• To provide accessible and culturally relevant training on critical aspects of premature baby care.
• To enhance mothers' knowledge and skills, thereby improving infant outcomes and facilitating successful discharge.

Main Methods:

• The study employed the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model.
• Needs assessment involved 71 mothers of premature infants to identify key training areas.
• Content development included written materials and 13 skill-training videos, validated by 9 experts (Content Validity Index: 0.92).

Main Results:

• The "PreBaby" application was successfully developed, featuring written training, skill videos, and a messaging function.
• Content validity index for training materials was high (0.92), indicating expert agreement on relevance and accuracy.
• User interface evaluation confirmed understandability, ease of navigation, and overall usability.

Conclusions:

• The "PreBaby" mobile application is a potentially effective training tool for Turkish mothers of premature infants.
• It can significantly improve maternal knowledge and skills related to premature infant home care.
• The app is expected to contribute positively to discharge education and support the transition to home care.