Effect of QR Code-Supported Infant Care Education on Maternal Self-Confidence, Maternal Attachment, and Infant Health in the NICU

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of Meleis' Transitions Theory-based Quick Response (QR) code-supported infant care education on maternal self-confidence, maternal attachment, and infant health among primiparous mothers whose infants are hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Participants were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group using block randomization. Mothers in the intervention group received face-to-face infant care education before discharge, a printed infant care guide containing QR codes linked to educational videos, and instructions on how to use a mobile application. Mothers in the control group received routine care and discharge education provided by the NICU. Maternal self-confidence, maternal attachment, and infant health outcomes were assessed before discharge and at one and three months after discharge. This study is expected to provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of QR code-supported infant care education in improving maternal adaptation and infant health outcomes following NICU discharge.

Inclusion Criteria: * Primiparous mothers with a singleton birth, * Aged 18 years or older, * Able to read and communicate in Turkish, * Owning a smartphone with internet access and having sufficient digital literacy to use QR code applications, * No diagnosed psychiatric disorder, * Mothers whose infants had been hospitalized in the neonatal intensive care unit for at least one month, * Willing to participate and providing written informed consent, * Infants with a gestational age of ≥34 weeks, * Infants without life-threatening congenital, neurological, gastrointestinal, or genetic disorders requiring surgical intervention or expected to affect long-term prognosis. Exclusion Criteria: * Mothers who did not continue in the post-discharge follow-up period, * Participants whose mother or infant died (exitus) during the study period.