J Korean Acad Nurs.  2004 Dec;34(8):1468-1476.

The Effects of a Home-Visiting Discharge Education on Maternal Self-esteem, Maternal Attachment, Postpartum Depression and Family Function in the Mothers of NICU Infants

• Ahn YM
• Kim MR

Abstract

PURPOSE: A quasi-experimental study was performed to investigate the effects of a home visiting discharge education program on the maternal self-esteem, attachment, postpartum depression and family function in 35 mothers of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) infants. METHODS: Twenty-three mothers in the intervention group received the home visiting discharge education while 12 mothers in the control group received the routine, hospital discharge education. Baseline data was collected in both groups one day after delivery. The intervention group received the home visiting discharge education while the control group did the routine hospital-based discharge education. The questionnaire including the data on maternal self-esteem, attachment, postpartum depression and family function were collected within 1week after the discharge by mail. RESULTS: The scores of maternal self-esteem, and attachment were significantly increased, and the postpartum depression and the family function score were decreased after the home visiting discharge education in intervention group. There were no changes in these variables before and after the routine hospital-based discharge education in control group. CONCLUSION: These results support the beneficial effects of home visiting discharge education on the maternal role adaptation and family function of the mothers of NICU infants.

Keyword

Premature infants; Postpartum depression; Patient discharge; Follow-up study

MeSH Terms

Adaptation, Psychological
Adult
Aftercare/organization & administration
Attitude to Health
Depression, Postpartum/diagnosis/etiology/*prevention & control
*Family Health
Female
Home Care Services/*organization & administration
Humans
Infant, Newborn
*Intensive Care Units, Neonatal
Korea
Male
*Mother-Child Relations
*Mothers/education/psychology
Nursing Evaluation Research
Patient Discharge
Postnatal Care/organization & administration
Program Evaluation
Public Health Nursing/*organization & administration
Questionnaires
*Self Concept