Feasibility of a Touch Screen Computer Based Breastfeeding Educational Support

Human breast milk not only provides complete nutrition for healthy physical and mental development in the first months of life, it also protects against common childhood infections and diseases. Despite the benefits of breastfeeding, less than a third of 3-month-old infants in the United States are exclusively breastfed. Mothers with less education and income, and those living in rural areas are less likely to exclusively breastfeed.

This pilot project tested the impact of an interactive bilingual touchscreen education program to improve breastfeeding knowledge, self-efficacy, and intent to breastfeed among Hispanic mothers living in rural areas. The educational materials were delivered using a multi-media format that included audio, text, images, and video.

The specific aims of this project were as follows:

• Examine factors that affect the decision to continue breastfeeding in Hispanic rural women using focus groups. 
• Design and develop a bilingual, interactive, touchscreen program for breastfeeding education among Hispanic rural women. 
• Pilot test the acceptance of a computer-based breastfeeding educational support program and explore its effect on breastfeeding knowledge, breastfeeding self-efficacy, and partial or exclusive breastfeeding among Hispanic rural women.

A repeated-measure quasi-experimental study randomly assigned women to the touchscreen intervention study arm or the control arm, which received bilingual printed education materials. After 6 months, there were improvements in breastfeeding knowledge, self-efficacy, and intent to breastfeed. Additionally, the proportion of women who breastfeed their babies the recommended 10 times per day was greater in the intervention group after the first week of the study through the end of the study. Focus group participants reported that their decision to breastfeed was influenced by the health benefits for the baby and advice from family members. The study concluded that the touchscreen technology has potential to improve breastfeeding practices.