Experiences of visually impaired mothers regarding child care and their expectations from nurses: A qualitative study

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: In many societies mother has the primary responsibility for care of children. Mothers receive professional support in child care from nurses. This is valid for visually impaired mothers who need professional support more. Studies researching child care experiences of visually impaired mothers and their expectations from nurses on this subject are quite limited. The purpose of this study is to determine the experiences of visually impaired mothers in the care of their children and their expectations from nurses in this process and to provide strategic recommendations for nurses in line with these expectations. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Data from research conducted adhering to phenomenology, a qualitative method were collected between March 2019-May 2020 date in five different provinces in Turkey. The study group consisted of 25 visually impaired mothers with children aged 0-18. In the analysis of the data as methodologically, the inductive coding path was followed. In the analysis, support was received from the Max Qualitative Data Analysis (MAXQDA) Analytics Pro2020 program. For the research, written permission from the ethics committee of the institution was obtained, and the approvals of the participants were obtained verbally with a tape recorder. RESULTS: Eight themes were obtained as a result of the analysis: Of the eight themes determined; Themes of "Prenatal Emotions and the Need for Support", "Postpartum Emotions and Care at 0-1 Years", "Hygienic Care of the Child", "Experiences in the Child's Disease", "Child's Safety", "School Process" and "Advantages and Disadvantages" are related with childcare, while the theme of "Expectations and Recommendations" is related to the expectations from nurses as well as the recommendations to visually impaired mothers. CONCLUSION: In the study it was determined that visually impaired mothers had experiences brought about by visual impairment, received help or developed facilitating strategies for childcare. Mothers expressed that they expect nurses to show more empathy and they want them to provide training and information on child care using appropriate techniques to visually impaired mothers. KEYWORDS: Motherhood, Expectation, Child care, Experience, Disability, Visual impairment.