Background
Methods
Approval by the institutional review board
The web application
Internet calls using Skype
Eligibility of patients, randomization, and study groups
Nursing personnel
Evaluation methods
Parent questionnaire
Interviews of parents
Nurse questionnaire
Presentation of numerical data
Results
Characteristics of the mothers and infants
Mean ± SEM | Median (range) | |
---|---|---|
Mothers
| ||
Age (years) | 30.9 ± 0.9 | 31 (23–40) |
Infants
| ||
Gestational age (weeks + days) | 33 wks + 2 d ± 3 d | 33 wks + 5 d (25 wks + 6 d– 37 wks + 4 d) |
Birth weight (g) | 2073 ± 105 | 1948 (870 – 3750) |
Postmenstrual age at the time of discharge from hospital to home health care (weeks + days) | 35 wks + 2 d ± 2 d | 35 wks (35 wks + 2 d – 42 wks + 2 d) |
Length of stay in home health care (days) | 20 ± 1.4 | 18.5 (9–39) |
Postmenstrual age at the time of discharge from home health care (weeks + days) | 38 wks + 1 d ± 2 d | 37 wks + 4 d (35 wks + 2 d– 42 wks + 2 d) |
Families’ opinions about the home health care in general
Questions with Likert-like scale | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
How satisfied were you with the home health care in general? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 3 (9%) | 29 (91%) |
How well prepared were you when your baby was discharged from the hospital to home health care? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 10 (31%) | 22 (69%) |
How confident did you feel in the care of your baby at home? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 7 (22%) | 25 (78%) |
How satisfied were you with the home visits by the nurses? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (6%) | 30 (94%) |
Questions with No/Yes answers
|
No
|
Yes
| |||
Were the home visits stressful for your family? | 31 (97%) | 1 (3%) | |||
Did you have a sufficient number of home visits? | 1 (2%) | 31 (97%) | |||
Were the home visits long enough? | 0 (0%) | 32 (100%) |
Results specific to the use of the web application
Computer experience of the families
Questions with Likert-like scale | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
How extensive is your computer experience? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (16.7%) | 10 (83.3%) |
How good is your general impression of the web application? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (16.7%) | 6 (58.3%) | 4 (37.5%) |
How easy was the web application to use? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (16.7%) | 10 (83.3%) |
Questions with Yes/No answers
|
No
|
Yes
|
No opinion
| ||
Was it good to be able to view your child’s data? | 1 (8.3%) | 10 (83.3%) | 1 (8.3%) | ||
Did you get feedback from the nurses regarding the data you entered? | 3 (25%) | 9 (75%) | 0 (0%) | ||
Did you get answers to any questions by using the information link? | 1 (8.3%) | 11 (91.7%) | 0 (0%) | ||
Did the webpage help you feel more confident in the care of your child at home? | 6 (50%) | 6 (50%) | 0 (0%) | ||
Do you feel that the application reduced your need of home visits? | 5 (66.7%) | 3 (33.3%) | 0 (0%) |
Web application: ease of use, content, and usefulness
Results specific to the use of Skype
Questions with Likert scale | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
How easy was it to use Skype? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (50%) | 4 (50%) |
How satisfied were you with the video calls? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 5 (62.5%) | 3 (37.5%) |
How easy was it for you to communicate with the nurse by video call? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 1 (12.5%) | 2 (25%) | 5 (62.5%) |
Were the answers or instructions you received during the video calls useful to you? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 2 (25%) | 4 (50%) | 2 (25%) |
Were video calls less stressful than home visits? | 0 (0%) | 0 (0%) | 4 (50%) | 2 (25%) | 2 (25%) |
Questions with No/Yes answers
|
No
|
Yes
| |||
Did you receive answers to your questions during the video calls? | 1 (12.5%) | 7 (87.5%) | |||
Were video calls better than ordinary phone calls? | 1 (12.5%) | 7 (87.5%) | |||
Did the video calls help you feel more confident in the care of your child at home? | 0 (0%) | 8 (100%) | |||
Do you feel that the video calls reduced your need of home visits? | 2 (25%) | 6 (75%) |