"MEU PEQUENO PREMATURO”: VALIDAÇÃO DE UMA TECNOLOGIA DE CUIDADO E EDUCAÇÃO EM SAÚDE

Abstract

Prematurity is considered to be when there is a preterm birth (PT), before 37 weeks of gestational age. These patients (especially extreme PTs) have a higher risk of complications in the neonatal period and re-hospitalizations compared to full-term newborns (NBs). The public affected by this phenomenon goes beyond babies born prematurely; their families and caregivers are constantly affected by the specificities that caring for premature babies can entail. It is therefore necessary to build and disseminate support tools and strategies for these families and caregivers of babies born prematurely. The general aim of this research was to validate the appearance and applicability of the "Meu Pequeno Prematuro" mobile application. The "Meu Pequeno Prematuro" app is a health education tool developed by health professionals for parents, family members and caregivers of premature babies and already available on digital platforms. The specific objectives were to validate the appearance, content and applicability of the app, in its new version, from expert judges, family members of premature babies and from the health professionals who make up the Maternal and Child Care Line, at the three levels of health care in the 4th Health Region of Paraná. This is a methodological study made up of different research tools, means of analysis and different groups of participants. The research tools were validation questionnaires using the Likert scale as a parameter and field diaries. The means of analysis depended on the number of participants in each group and the type of content to be analyzed. The group of expert judges, with n=3, was analyzed descriptively, while the group of health professionals, made up of n=102, allowed for statistical, descriptive and narrative analysis. The statistical, descriptive and narrative analysis also took place with the group of family members made up of n= 36. The descriptive and narrative analysis was only possible due to face-to-face presentations of the new version of the app, both in health services and in the homes of the relatives of premature babies. The appearance, content and applicability validations carried out showed a high level of acceptance by the participating public.