The effect of an enhanced educational program on infant bathing safety for post-partum women
1Shimony-Kanat Sarit, RN, MHA‡, 2Vinograd Orit, RN, MPH, SCM‡, 3Naaman Lilach, 4Levy Sharon, RN, MA, 1,4Zisk-Rony Rachel Yaffa, RN, PhD, MPH
1Henrietta Szold Hadassah – Hebrew University school of Nursing in the Faculty of Medicine and Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
2Post-Partum Unit, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
3Beterem – The national Center for Children's Safety & Health, R.A., Israel
4Nursing Division, Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
‡ The first two authors are equal contributors.
Abstract
Background:
Infant bathing is a daily activity which is not risk free. Drowning is the third leading cause of mortality in infancy. Other risks associated with infant bathing include burns and lack of supervision. In our hospital all mothers are expected to receive bathing safety education as part of standard care, yet the effect of that education is unknown.
Aim:
To examine the effect of standard and enhanced educational programs on post-partum women's knowledge regarding infant bathing safety.
Methods:
An interventional case control study of post-partum women in a rooming-in unit. All participants received standard nursing bathing education, written information and completed knowledge questionnaires during hospitalization and three months post discharge. Additionally, half of the women received an enhanced educational program (power-point CD) and completed another questionnaire 24 hours following standard education.
Results:
Participants (N=128) were highly educated (69% academic), and 27% were primipara. Knowledge regarding infant bathing safety following standard nursing education was poor to fair (4-78%). However, many participants chose a more stringent answer option than recommended. The interventional group demonstrated better safety knowledge for all questions (all but one item were significant, p<0.05). Three months post-discharge both groups exhibited a decrease in knowledge (p<0.05), 55% reported not reading the written information, and 80% reported not receiving any further bathing safety education following discharge (i.e., in the community).
Discussion:
The enhanced educational program improved short term maternal safety knowledge. There is a need for a combination of educational programs for all post-partum women in the hospital followed by reinforcement in the community.
Learning objectives:
· Mothers exhibit a decrease in knowledge regarding infant bathing safety following in-hospital standard nursing education (oral & written).
· There is a need for enhanced and ongoing bathing safety education for mothers of infants.
Ms. Sarit Shimony-Kanat completed her BSN in 1995, her MHA in 1999 and is currently Phd candidate at the School of Public Health at Hebrew University. Ms. Shimony-Kanat worked as a Pediatric Critical Care nurse for 6 years and as a community nurse and Nurse Manager for 4 years. Since 2000 she has been teaching Pediatrics, Health Management and Community Health nursing. Ms. Shimony-Kanat's research focus is child safety.