The improvement of knowledge and skill sofnursesinthe kangaroo mother care method for low Birth weight infants through counseling

Abstract

ntroduction :A baby's weight at birth is a strong indicator of maternal and newborn health and nutrition. One ofthe problems that oftenoccur inlow birth weight (LBW) infants is the instability of body temperature. Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) is an effective way to keep the infants warm.This study aimsto investigate the improvement of knowledge and skills of nurses in the implementation of the Kangaroo Mother Care method in LBW through counseling in Perinatology Room at General District Hospital (RSUD) Ade M. Djoen Sintang. Methods :The design of this research was pre-experimental. The population in this study was nurses and midwives in Perinatology Room at RSUD Ade M. Djoen Sintang. Total sampling technique was used with 15 respondents. The independent variable was counseling, while the dependent variable was knowledge and skills. The data were collected by questionnaires and observations. The analysis used was Wilcoxon signed rank test with significance level of p <0,05. Result :The results showed that knowledge (p=0.001) meant there was an improvement of knowledge of nurses and midwives about Kangaroo Mother Care method by giving counseling. Skills (p=0.001) meant there was an improvement of skills about Kangaroo Mother Care method in nurses and midwives by giving counseling as well. Discussion :It could be concluded that there was an improvement of knowledge and skills in conducting Kangaroo Mother Care method in dealing with low birth weight infants. Nurses should increase knowledge and skills in nursing management in LBW infants by attending the counseling. Kangaroo care method should be implemented step-by-step completely and correctly, without missing or forgetting any part.

Keywords

• kangaroo
• mothers
• care
• method
• skills
• knowledge