The Effect of Discharge Planning and Home Visits on Growth and Development of the Babies and Problem Solving Skills of Their Mothers

Abstract

Aim: It was perfomed to determine the effect of discharge planning and home visits on growth and development of the babies and problem solving skills of their mothers. Material and Method: The experimental type study consisted of 63 mothers (experiment=31;control=32) and 75 preterm babies (experiment=37 ;control=38) determined by simple random sampling method in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units of 3 hospitals in Istanbul. The experimental group had a 3-session training program for mothers of preterm babies before their discharge. After the discharge, a total of 4 visits were made to both the experimental group and the control group. During the visit, to Mothers “Problem Solving Skills Assesment Questionare: How To Deal with Problems Regarding Care of My Baby (SÇBDF)” and to infants “Ankara Developmental Screening Inventory (AGTE)” were applied and their anthropometric measurements were taken and recorded. Results: The general development score received from AGTE of the babies in the experimental group was significantly higher than the control group (p< 0.001). It was found that the score received from SCBDF were 184.1 ± 17.4 points for the experimental group and 155.2 ± 22.0 points for the control group, and the difference was found to be highly significant for the experimental group (p<0.001). However, there was no significant difference between the anthropometric measurements of the infants in both groups (p> 0.05). Conclusion: Discharge training and home visits to mothers with preterm infants were found to be influential on infant development and mothers' problem-solving skills.