Content Validity, Feasibility, and Acceptability of the NeuroSense PremmieEd Programme, a South African Premature Parenting Education Intervention for the NICU Parent: A Hybrid Focus Group Discussion Method

Background: Parent education is a key component of family-centred care in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). It supports positive parent-infant interactions, reduces parental stress and anxiety, and contributes to shorter hospital stays. Objectives: This paper reports on the adaptation of a South African parenting education intervention for parents of premature infants in the NICU: the NeuroSense PremmieEd programme. The study aimed to demonstrate the programme’s content validity, feasibility, and acceptability for preterm parent–infant dyads in public hospital NICUs, using a hybrid focus group discussion (FGD) method. The programme was based on an existing intervention and informed by literature on the components of parenting educational programmes and empirical data on parental expectations. Methods: A qualitative, iterative refinement process was undertaken using hybrid-format FGDs. A conceptual FGD was held during the design phase, followed by two consensus FGDs after pilot testing (reported separately). Stakeholders included end-users (mothers), clinicians, an instructional designer, a neurodevelopmental care expert, and programme facilitators. Results: The first FGD reviewed draft version 0.1, confirming content relevance and clarity, while recommending adjustments, such as module integration, cultural and language alignment, and visual aids to support comprehension. The second and third FGD led to refinements addressing emotional sensitivity in terminology, improved layout and readability, and the addition of home care guidance. Stakeholders highlighted the potential use of low-cost digital formats to enhance accessibility and standardisation. These revisions informed the final version 0.3. Conclusions: The hybrid FGD approach enabled input from diverse and geographically dispersed stakeholders. The NeuroSense PremmieEd programme was found to be feasible and acceptable by both mothers and healthcare professionals, supporting its suitability for broader implementation in resource-constrained settings.