ABSTRACT

The Philippines continues to have a recorded incidence of maternal and infant deaths and, one key factor contributing to poor health outcomes for mothers and children is low maternal health literacy. Nurses can use a health literacy approach to address this health issue and enhance the quality of care they provide. Nowadays, with the rise of information technology, training methods have evolved significantly, particularly through the use of mobile apps. Interventions such as the use of mobile health apps demonstrated potential to widely spread perinatal information and to engage expectant mothers. This study assessed the effectiveness of the Bright si Nanay DigiApp on the level of maternal health literacy on immediate postpartum and newborn care among the participants in select barangays of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan. The study utilized a quasi–experimental research design, involving 60 eligible participants who were randomly assigned to the intervention and non–intervention group. The participants in the intervention group were exposed to the DigiApp for four weeks with the usual antenatal care, while the non- intervention group received no intervention but the usual antenatal care given by the Barangay Health Workers (BHWs) in their respective Barangay Health Station (BHS). Pre– est and post–test were given to both groups., using an adopted maternal health literacy questionnaire. Results revealed that before intervention, there was no significant difference between the test scores of the participants in the non–intervention and intervention group. After the four–week intervention period, significant difference between the post–test scores between groups were observed. Also, significant difference was noted in the mean scores of the intervention group before and after exposure to the DigiApp. The findings showed that the Bright si Nanay DigApp is effective in improving the level of maternal health literacy of immediate postpartum and newborn care of the participants.

Keywords:Maternal and child health, Bright si Nanay DigiApp, immediate postpartum care, newborn care
https://doi.org/10.57180/yatv4378