METHODS
Participants
Four hundred and seventy pregnant women hospitalized in Shanghai First Maternity and Infant
Health Hospital during December 2008 to June 2009 participated in the study.
They were assigned into two study groups of Continuous primary nursing care and task-centered nursing care (TCNC) before they were admitted to the hospital using a randomized systematic sampling approach.
When each pregnant woman came to the clinic for the first outpatient checkup,she received a number randomly.
The patients with an even number were assigned to Continuous primary nursing care group and would be admitted to obstetric wards that used the Continuous primary nursing care model.
The patients with an odd number were assigned totask-centered nursing care group and would be admitted to obstetric wards with task-centered nursing care model.
Two hundred and thirty pregnant women received continuous primary nursing care in Continuous primary nursing care group in one obstetric unit, with a mean age of 27.32 (SD ± 5.49), and 240 pregnant women received task-centered
nursing care in task-centered nursing care group in the other obstetric unit, with a mean age of 28.2 (SD ± 6.12).
No signifi cant age difference was found between Continuous primary nursing care and task-centered nursing care groups.
All participants were 20 years of age or above, were having their first delivery, and were mentally stable and capable of verbal communication determined by the primary nurse based on observation and effective communication with the individual pregnant woman during the first outpatient check-up.
Two obstetric units that were located in two separate buildings at the same hospital were chosen to avoid potential communications and social contact between Continuous primary nursing care and totask-centered nursing care groups. The study procedures
were approved by the Institutional Review Board of Shanghai First Maternity and Infant Hospital.
The participants were informed that their participation was voluntary.
Informed consent was obtained from each participant. There was no participation attrition in this study.