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@article{194682,
        author = {Lidiya Jerome and Mrs. Sharadha},
        title = {Effectiveness of Structured Teaching Programme on Knowledge Regarding Prevention of Developmental Disorders in Infants among Mothers: A Pre-Experimental Study},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {12},
        number = {10},
        pages = {5120-5125},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=194682},
        abstract = {Background: Developmental disorders represent a significant global health challenge, particularly in low- and middle-income settings where awareness among caregivers’ remains limited. Maternal knowledge about the prevention of these disorders plays a vital role in early identification and timely intervention. However, evidence suggests that mothers of infants in semi-urban and rural areas of India often possess inadequate understanding of the causes, risk factors, and preventive strategies related to developmental disorders. Structured educational interventions have shown promise in bridging this knowledge gap across various clinical contexts, yet their application specifically to infant developmental disorders among Indian mothers remains underexplored.
Aim: This study was designed to evaluate whether a structured teaching programme could significantly improve the knowledge of mothers regarding the prevention of developmental disorders in infants.
Methods: A pre-experimental, one-group pre-test post-test design was adopted. Fifty mothers of infants (aged up to one year) residing in Nelamangala, Bangalore were recruited through purposive sampling. Data were gathered using a researcher-developed structured knowledge questionnaire comprising 28 items, validated by ten subject-matter experts (reliability coefficient r = 0.87 using the split-half method). The structured teaching programme was delivered immediately following the pre-test, and a post-test was administered seven days later. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (paired t-test and chi-square test) at the 0.05 significance level.
Results: The mean pre-test knowledge score was 8.85 (SD = 1.13), indicating that 72.5% of mothers had below-average knowledge. Following the intervention, the mean post-test score rose to 17.10 (SD = 1.88), with 72.5% of mothers achieving average or above-average knowledge levels. The difference between pre-test and post-test scores was statistically significant (t = 15.8, p < 0.05). No significant association was observed between pre-test knowledge scores and selected demographic variables (age, education, occupation, income, area of residence, or type of family).
Conclusion: The structured teaching programme was effective in enhancing maternal knowledge on prevention of developmental disorders in infants. Findings underscore the value of nurse-led educational strategies in community health settings and highlight the need for scaling such interventions across primary healthcare centres.},
        keywords = {developmental disorders, structured teaching programme, maternal knowledge, infant health, pre-experimental study, nursing education, health promotion},
        month = {March},
        }