The effect of a program to take care of the self-care of pregnant women using online media on the knowledge and practices of pregnant women who come for prenatal care at Nabon Hospital, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province

Abstract

This quasi-experimental study employed a two-group pretest-posttest design to examine the effects of an online self-care program on the knowledge and self-care practices of pregnant women attending antenatal care at Nabon Hospital, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province. The sample consisted of 40 pregnant women, with 20 participants assigned to the experimental group and 20 to the control group. The experimental group participated in an eight-week program comprising video-based education, demonstrations and practical exercises, experience-sharing activities, and follow-up through the LINE application, whereas the control group received routine antenatal care. Data were collected using a demographic questionnaire, a 25-item knowledge test, and a 25-item self-care practice questionnaire. The knowledge test demonstrated a KR-20 reliability coefficient of 0.84, while the self-care practice questionnaire had a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.88. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired-samples t-tests, and independent-samples t-tests.

The findings showed that, prior to the intervention, there were no statistically significant differences in knowledge or self-care practice scores between the two groups. Following the intervention, the mean knowledge score in the experimental group increased from 16.95 ± 1.61 to 19.95 ± 3.10, while the mean self-care practice score increased from 70.70 ± 6.06 to 80.90 ± 7.89. Both increases were statistically significant (p < .001). In contrast, no statistically significant changes were observed in the control group. When changes in scores were compared between groups, the experimental group demonstrated a 2.70-point greater increase in knowledge and an 8.85-point greater increase in self-care practice than the control group; both differences were statistically significant (p < .001). These findings indicate that the online self-care program was effective in improving pregnant women’s knowledge and self-care practices.