Development and evaluation of website providing information on drugs in lactation for nurses at Nakornping Hospital, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

Background: Lactating women are a patient group that requires careful drug use. Attending nurses at Nakornping Hospital in Chiang Mai province still lack easily accessible sources of information on drug use in lactating women.

Objective: To develop and evaluate an educational website on drug use in lactating women for attending nurses.

Methods: This study employed a research and development design at Nakornping Hospital between February and May 2025. Participants included all nurses working in the Obstetrics-Gynecology ward, the special Obstetrics-Gynecology ward, and the special pediatric ward. The research involved developing an educational website on drug use in lactating women for attending nurses and assessing their knowledge and satisfaction. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and mixed-effects multilevel regression.

Results: Phase 1: The problem was explored through a focus group discussion involving eight attending nurses, all female and aged between 41 and 50 years. It was found that four groups of medications were most commonly used among lactating women: antihypertensive drugs, antibiotics, antiepileptic drugs, and medications for thyroid disorders. The identified issues included insufficient availability of information and difficulty accessing reliable drug-related resources. Phase 2: A website containing comprehensive content covering all four medication groups was designed, followed by usability testing. Phase 3: The implementation phase involved providing training, along with instructions and testing of the website’s use. Phase 4: Evaluation, twenty-five nurses were included in this phase. All participants were female, with the majority (52%) aged between 21 and 30 years. The median working experience was 8 years (IQR: 20; range: 1–35 years). The average knowledge scores of the nurses significantly increased after the website training. The mean scores for the pre-test, immediate post-test, and two-month post-test were 6.08 ± 1.11, 9.48 ± 0.77, and 8.24 ± 0.97 (out of 10 points), respectively. The mean differences between the pre-test and immediate post-test, and between the pre-test and two-month post-test, were 3.40 (95% CI: 2.89–3.91) and 2.16 (95% CI: 1.65–2.67), respectively; both differences were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Regarding satisfaction, the website received an overall average score of 4.56 ± 0.65 (out of 5). High satisfaction levels were reported, particularly in terms of content, design, and practical usefulness.

Conclusion: The developed website effectively enhanced nurses’ knowledge regarding drug use in lactating women and received a high level of satisfaction. These tools can reduce the time spent on drug information, improve accessibility, minimize medication errors, and increase confidence in clinical practice.