The Effect of WhatsApp-Based and Face-to-face Nursing Education on Mothers' Quality of Life and Traditional Practices

Introduction: The postpartum period is very important and is a suitable period for women to gain healthy lifestyle behaviors. Studies in the literature show that women with high quality of life have a more comfortable postpartum period. If the needs of women are not met in the postpartum period, there may be an increase in traditional practices for mothers. For this reason, postpartum education is very important for maternal health. Various ways can be used to provide education to mothers. With the development of technology, education given over mobile applications has often found a place in studies. The face-to-face education format, on the other hand, remains up-to-date. It is not known for certain which form of education is superior to the other. Testing the superiority of these two training methods to each other will eliminate the question marks in this area.Purpose: To determine the effectiveness of WhatsApp-based and face-to-face nursing education and counseling given in the postpartum period on mothers' quality of life and traditional practices.Method: The experimentally planned study will consist of three groups including WhatsApp, face-to-face and control group. The universe of the research will be composed of women hospitalized in Sivas Numune Hospital Aseptic Service. A total of 180 people will be taken into the sample of the research, 60 of which are in the WhatsApp experimental group, 60 in the face-to-face experimental group and 60 in the control group. Training videos for the postpartum period will be sent to the WhatsApp experimental group via WhatsApp. Face-to-face training will be given to the women in the face-to-face experimental group by the researcher, and the handbook containing the training content will be distributed to the women. Women in both experimental groups will be supported by providing counseling over the phone (message, meeting if needed). No attempt will be made to the control group. The participant introduction form and the Turkish version of the world health organization quality of life scale (WHOQOL-BREF-TR) will be used to evaluate the data of the study. The data will be evaluated with the SPSS 28 program.

Inclusion Criteria:Be within the first 1 week of the postpartum period,Having had a vaginal birth,Having a smart phoneNot having a chronic or psychiatric illness,Having given birth at termThere is no problem with the baby.Exclusion Criteria:Having had a cesarean delivery,Not having a smart phone,Having a chronic or psychiatric illness,Not having given birth at term,There is problem with the baby.