The effects of a hospital-to-home care transition program on perceived stress and readiness for hospital discharge in mothers of children with congenital heart disease undergoing corrective surgery.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a hospital-to-home care transition (H2H-CT) program on perceived stress and readiness for hospital discharge (RHD) in mothers of children with congenital heart disease (CHD) undergoing corrective surgery.

Methods: This study used a quasi-experimental design and involved 78 mother-child dyads, 40 dyads in the intervention group and 38 dyads in the control group, who were affected by CHD undergoing corrective surgery. The participants received the H2H-CT program, which consisted of six face-to-face training sessions during hospitalization and six telephone counselling sessions. For perceived stress, data were collected at four intervals, including baseline, immediately, one month and three months after completion of the intervention. For RHD, data were collected at two times: baseline and immediately after the intervention.

Results: The results demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in the mean perceived stress score in mothers of children with CHD in intervention group before, immediately, four weeks and eight weeks after H2H-CT (P < 0.001). The results also indicated a significant increase in the mean RHD score in the intervention group following H2H-CT (P < 0.001).

Conclusion: The H2H-CT program was found to be an effective intervention in reducing perceived stress and increasing RHD in mothers of children with CHD who undergoing corrective surgery.

Implications To Practice: The results can be used by the nursing planners, nursing instructors, and pediatric nurses to use the results to enhance the mental health of mothers and enable them to provide quality care at home.