Effects of My Child's Safety Web-Based Program for Caregivers of Children with Cancer in South Korea

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to develop a Web-based education program, My Child's Safety, which includes patient safety education and information on the diagnosis, treatment, and management for caregivers of children with cancer, and to examine the efficacy of the My Child's Safety program in promoting the caregivers' awareness of patient safety. METHODS: A one-group pre- and post-test design was adopted. The participants were the caregivers of children with cancer and were recruited from one pediatric hemato-oncology unit of a tertiary university hospital in a large metropolitan city of South Korea. They were asked to review the Web-based program for patient safety and then complete questionnaires developed to measure the awareness of patient safety among the caregivers. RESULTS: In the study, the total score of the caregivers' awareness of patient safety had increased significantly after Web-based self-learning patient safety education. Also caregivers' awareness of their right to ask and know about procedures and treatments during hospitalization had increased after the program was used. CONCLUSIONS: The Web-based patient safety education program effectively improved the awareness of patient safety and the awareness of the right to know and ask about procedures and treatments during hospitalization among the caregivers. Family caregivers were less likely to ask healthcare professionals questions related to safety.