The Effect of Virtual Education in Parenting Skills on the Parenting Sense of Competence in First-time Mothers with a 0-2-year-old Baby: A Quasi-experimental Study.
Fatemeh Nouri, Neda Jamalimoghadam, Mitra Edraki and 1 others
PMID 37901184WHAT IT FOUND
First-time mothers who received virtual parenting education self-reported higher parenting sense of competence immediately and one month later than mothers who did not.
The effect cannot be separated from routine child care, WhatsApp, audio, podcasts, or discussions.
Key findings
01In the experimental group, mean parenting sense of competence scores were 51.26±1.17 before intervention, 55.13±0.95 immediately after, and 55.73±0.99 one month after, with a significant increase (P<0.001).
02In the control group, mean scores were 51.64±1.15 before intervention, 52.54±0.93 immediately after, and 48.71±0.97 one month after, with no significant change (P=0.191).
03Between groups, post-intervention mean scores differed significantly immediately after intervention (P=0.043) and one month after intervention (P<0.001).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study used convenience sampling for mothers and did not describe random allocation to groups, so unmeasured differences may explain the result. Only 62 mothers were analysed, and they were first-time mothers with internet access in Iran, so the result may not apply to other parents or settings. Parenting sense of competence was measured by self-report on a single scale, with follow-up only one month after the intervention. The intervention combined routine child care, WhatsApp, audio and podcast sessions, and weekly discussions, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. Fathers were not educated or assessed, and the study did not measure child development, parenting stress, or child outcomes. Face-to-face education was limited by the COVID-19 pandemic, so the virtual format may have affected engagement and generalisability.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The article states financial support from Shiraz University of Medical Sciences with grant number 22417.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the higher scores as proof that virtual parenting education improves infant development. The study measured only mothers' self-reported parenting sense of competence, and the intervention package combined routine child care, WhatsApp, audio, podcasts, and discussions.