The Effect of Telephone Health Training on Perceived Stress of Mothers with Premature Infants Discharged from Hospital

Abstract

Background: Premature birth is a global health issue leading to major stress in mothers who will be able to get answers to many of their questions at home through a phone call. This study aimed to investigate the effect of telephone health training on the perceived stress of mothers with premature infants discharged from the hospital. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 60 mothers referring to Shohada-ye Kargar Hospital (Yazd, Iran) in 2022. They were selected using a purposive sampling method and then randomly assigned to the control and intervention groups. Data collection was accomplished with the Perceived Stress Questionnaire and demographic questionnaire. Telephone training was performed in the intervention group. The control group received ordinary care at discharge time. Data were analyzed with SPSS22 using paired t-test, independent t-test, and chi-square test. Results: The mean perceived stress of mothers was 25.10 ± 2.32 and 25.33 ± 3.12, in the intervention and control group before the intervention, respectively. These scores were 21.24 ± 1.83 and 24.14 ± 2.81, respectively after the intervention, and they decreased significantly in the intervention group (P = 0.03). Conclusion: Telephone health training is regarded as an efficient and low-cost method for reducing the perceived stress of mothers with premature infants discharged from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.  Improving maternal and neonatal health is suggested.