WeChat‐based remote follow‐up management alleviates the home care burden and anxiety of parents of premature infants: Randomized controlled study.

CONFIDENCE intervals; SOCIAL media; HOME care services; MOBILE apps; ANXIETY testing; SELF-report inventories; RANDOMIZED controlled trials; PSYCHOLOGICAL tests; MENTAL depression; ANXIETY; STATISTICAL sampling; PARENTS

Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of WeChat‐based remote follow‐up management on reducing the home care burden and anxiety of parents of premature infants. Methods: A randomized controlled study was conducted in our hospital, with 150 premature infants enrolled in this study, each with 75 cases in the intervention group and the control group. WeChat‐based remote follow‐up management was performed in the intervention group after discharge, while traditional outpatient follow‐up management was performed in the control group. Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) scale as the primary outcome was used to compare the parental care burden between the two groups. Results: At the 1‐month follow‐up, the ZBI (37.1 ± 8.3 vs. 54.2 ± 10.5 [mean ± SD], mean difference: 17.1, the 95% confidence interval for the mean difference: [14.07, 20.13], P = 0.016), Family Caregiver Task Inventory (FCTI) scale (23.1 ± 5.2 vs. 33.4 ± 6.7 [mean ± SD], mean difference: 10.3, the 95% confidence interval for the mean difference: [8.38, 12.22], P = 0.023), Self‐Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) (49.6 ± 8.5 vs. 60.2 ± 10.8 [mean ± SD], mean difference: 10.6, the 95% confidence interval for the mean difference: [7.49,13.71], P = 0.021) and Self‐Rating Depression Scale (SDS) (48.2 ± 9.5 vs. 58.8 ± 11.2 [mean ± SD], mean difference: 10.6, the 95% confidence interval for the mean difference: [7.28, 13.92], P = 0.019) scores of the intervention group were lower than those of the control group, and the lower scores indicate better outcomes. Conclusion: WeChat‐based remote follow‐up management of premature infants after discharge can effectively improve parents' ability to care and their psychological state and reduce burden of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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