Abstract
To examine the effects of a home follow-up program in Turkey on care problems, anxiety, and depression levels of mothers after the birth of a premature baby. A semi-experimental study with a pretest-posttest control group design. Eighty premature newborns and their mothers were included in the study. Nursing care was given to mothers and babies in the study group through a total of four home visits on weeks 1, 2, 3, anddays 40-42 in Kırıkkale, Turkey guided by the Nursing Diagnosis System and Nursing Interventions Classification (NIC) system of the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association (NANDA). Data were collected from a sociodemographics form, home care needs evaluation form, Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, and State Anxiety Inventory. There were no significant differences between groups for nursing diagnoses at baseline, while the study group resulted in significantly fewer problems on days 40-42, compared to the control group. Mothers had a comparatively lower depression and state anxiety risk in the study group compared to the control group. Providing home-based nursing care for preterm mothers and babies during the first 40-42days has the potential to decrease postnatal care problems, including maternal depression and state anxiety levels.
Highlights
The experience of premature delivery, and the subsequent need for care in a newborn intensive care unit, is generally perceived as trau‐ matic and a possible cause of psychological distress among mothers (Arslan & Turgut, 2013; Bağcı & Altuntuğ, 2016; Horwitz et al, 2015; Zelkowitz, Papageorgiou, Bardin, & Wang, 2009)
In a systematic review performed by Özcan and colleagues, one of the most prevalent risk factor for postnatal depression was determined as gestastional week and postnatal depression was higher among mothers who had premature babies as compared to full‐term mothers (Özcan, Boyacıoğlu, & Dinç, 2017; Vigod, Villegas, Dennis, & Ross, 2010)
Our results have implications for nursing care in Turkey and suggest that home visits could be important in reducing the depression and anxiety symptoms among mothers
Summary
The experience of premature delivery, and the subsequent need for care in a newborn intensive care unit, is generally perceived as trau‐ matic and a possible cause of psychological distress among mothers (Arslan & Turgut, 2013; Bağcı & Altuntuğ, 2016; Horwitz et al, 2015; Zelkowitz, Papageorgiou, Bardin, & Wang, 2009). No data are available about hospitalization of moth‐ ers and newborns during the postnatal period or information about postdischarge care received at home (Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health, 2016). This is especially problematic for mothers with pre‐ mature babies, who often have issues with home care. Two neonatology experts and two newborn nurses assessed content validity index to be acceptable for all items (between 0.81 and 1.00) (Davis, 1992) This scale was developed by Cox, Holden, and Sagovsky (1987) and later adapted into Turkish (Engindeniz, Küey, & Kültür, 1996). Cronbach's alpha for the present sample was 0.87
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