Simulation for breastfeeding support during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey: A quasi-experimental study

We aimed to investigate the effect of simulation-supported breastfeeding program given to women in pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic period on breastfeeding success, breastfeeding self-efficacy, and mother-infant attachment. They carried out this study 73 pregnant women who presented to the obstetrics and gynecology clinic of a hospital and were selected by using the simple random sampling method. The researchers used a quasi-experimental design in this study. After the simulation-supported breastfeeding program, they found that breastfeeding success and breastfeeding self-efficacy were increased in the experimental group compared to the control group. The researchers were used the structural equation model, regression analysis, and independent samples t-test in the data analysis. The education given to pregnant women in this period when social interaction decreases becomes more important. Researchers are recommended that breastfeeding education should start in the antenatal period and continue in the postpartum period by using different education methods together. Simulation-supported breastfeeding program is a model that can be used to provide breastfeeding education for pregnant women in public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. With this program, the number of visits to the hospital for breastfeeding education will decrease, and more remote counseling will be provided.

Developing and Evaluating the Psychometric Properties of the Pediatric Nursing Competency Scale for Nursing Students

Aim

This study aims to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Pediatric Nursing Competency Scale for nursing students.

Methods

This study was conducted with 318 nursing students, including third-year students enrolled in a pediatric nursing course and fourth-year students completing a pediatric nursing internship. Factor analysis, Cronbach’s alpha, item-total score analysis, and known-groups comparison were used to assess the research data. In total, 16 items were eliminated from the scale on the basis of experts’ recommendations.

Results

The scale consisted of 39 items and 8 sub-scales. The 8 sub-scales exhibited 66.4% of the total variance. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) revealed that all factor loads were greater than 0.40. The CFA also revealed that all of the fit indices were greater than 0.85, and the root mean square error of approximation was less than 0.08. Cronbach’s alpha was 0.96 for the entire scale, and greater than 0.80 for all sub-scales.

Conclusion

The Pediatric Nursing Competency Scale for nursing students was found to be valid and reliable.