Resumen

ESCALONA, María et al. Impact of an educational program on knowledge, beliefs and practice regarding breastfeeding. Salus [online]. 2012, vol.16, n.1, pp.23-32. ISSN 1316-7138.

Breastfeeding is one the cornerstones of health promotion; it protects the baby from malnutrition and disease. However, this practice has been taking a downturn in the last years. Nursing approaches to breastfeeding overlook women’s culture, their knowledge and practice, making it difficult to provide them with comprehensive care. Objective: To determine the knowledge, beliefs and practice of a group of mothers on breastfeeding before and after applying an educational program based on Madeleine Leininger’s Nursing Theory. Materials and Methods: This was a quantitative cross-sectional quasi-experimental field research (with pre and post-test). The population consisted of 30 breastfeeding mothers, from the Hydration Unit at the "Dr. Jorge Lizarraga" Pediatric Hospital, in the Hospital City Dr. Enrique Tejera, Valencia, Carabobo State. A dichotomic tool was used for data collection. Validity was obtained by experts’ opinion, and reliability by an Alpha Cronbach of 0.888. Results: 50% of the mothers receiving the educational program were between 20 and 29 years of age. Pre-test score was 44.9% and post-test 85.4%, which shows a statistically significant difference (p<0.005). Conclusion: The educational program had a significant impact on the participating mothers; there was an increase of their knowledge on the aspects contained in the variable knowledge, beliefs and practice of breastfeeding.

Palabras clave : Knowledge; beliefs; practice; educational program; breastfeeding.

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