Effects of WeChat follow‐up management of infants who underwent ventricular septal defect repair on parents' disease knowledge and quality of life: A prospective randomized controlled study

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of WeChat follow-up management of infants who underwent ventricular septal defect (VSD) repair on parents' disease knowledge and quality of life. METHODS Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n = 40) or a control group (n = 40). The intervention group was followed up with WeChat, while the control group was followed up using a traditional method. The disease knowledge, mental state, and quality of life of the two groups of parents were analyzed and compared. RESULTS During the 3-month follow-up period, the PedSQL (PedsQL family impact module) results showed that the overall score in the intervention group was significantly higher than that in the control group. The parents in the intervention group were better at managing "emotion control," "worry," and "family communication" than those in the control group. The results of the LKQCHD (Leuven congenital heart disease knowledge questionnaire) showed that the parents in the intervention group had a higher mastery of "basic knowledge and treatment of congenital heart disease," "related complications," and "postoperative rehabilitation" than those in the control group. CONCLUSION Knowledge education and psychological counseling for parents of children who underwent VSD repair through WeChat follow-up management can effectively improve parents' knowledge, relieve their anxiety and sadness, and improve their quality of life.