PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the meaning and essence of experiences of stress in mothers of preschoolers with atopic dermatitis. METHODS: This study employed a qualitative research design. Seven mothers of preschoolers with atopic dermatitis were interviewed and the data were analyzed using Giorgi's phenomenological method. RESULTS: Five main themes and 12 theme clusters emerged. The 5 main themes were 1) the mother's enduring heartache from the conflict that arise among family members, 2) the complete loss of daily happiness, 3) the steady stream of emotional fluctuations, 4) struggling to bear the heavy financial burden, and, 5) a life of hope accompanied by stress. CONCLUSION: The results of this study provide an in-depth understanding of stress among mothers of preschoolers with atopic dermatitis. These results can be used in the development of nursing interventions to provide psychological and emotional support for mothers and family members.
Child, Preschool ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Happiness ; Hope ; Humans ; Methods ; Mothers* ; Nursing ; Qualitative Research ; Rivers ; Stress, Psychological

Purpose: This study aimed to develop a mobile web-based food allergy (FA) and anaphylaxis management educational program for parents of school-aged children with food allergies and evaluate its effectiveness. Methods: A mobile program was developed based on a web-based teaching-learning system model. Its effectiveness was subsequently evaluated using a parallel, randomized controlled pre- and post-test design. This study included 73 parents of school-aged children with food allergies. These parents were randomly assigned to either the experimental (n ¼ 37) or control (n ¼ 36) groups. The experimental group participated in a 2-week mobile web-based educational program that covered major topics in FA and anaphylaxis management. These topics included an understanding of food allergies and anaphylaxis, learning techniques for using an epinephrine auto-injector, and developing an emergency action plan. An educational booklet was provided to the control group. Participants completed a pre-test and two posttest questionnaires to evaluate the impact of the program. The assessment tools were the Food Allergy Knowledge Test, Food Allergy Self-Efficacy for Parents, and Food Management and Adaptation Scale. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, a test of homogeneity for the pre-test, an independent ttest, and repeated measures ANOVA. Results: The experimental group experienced greater improvement in the knowledge of FA (postintervention t ¼ 14.51, p < .001; 2 weeks post-intervention, t ¼ 16.15, p < .001), FA self-efficacy (postintervention t ¼ 77.99, p < .001; 2 weeks post-intervention, t ¼ 76.09, p < .001), and practice behavior in FA management (post-intervention t ¼ 28.10, p < .001; 2 weeks post-intervention, t ¼ 27.98, p < .001) after web-based FA education. Conclusion This study revealed improvements in the knowledge, self-efficacy, and practice behaviors of parents regarding FA and anaphylaxis management. Therefore, the mobile web-based educational program can contribute to the effective management of food allergies and anaphylaxis for parents of schoolaged children. CRIS registration: KCT0007491.