Enhancing Parental Knowledge of Cystic Fibrosis Through Education

<bold>Background:</bold> Parents of children with cystic fibrosis (CF) often lack knowledge, which can lead to poor treatment adherence and failure to transfer responsibility to adolescents. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a combined face-to-face and online educational intervention in increasing parents' understanding of CF in children diagnosed through the newborn screening programme. <bold>Methods:</bold> The study included parents of children aged 0 to 30 months diagnosed with CF. An 18-question knowledge-level questionnaire covering CF-specific knowledge, genetic and reproductive health, lung health and nutrition was completed by the families. After the questionnaire, they received face-to-face education and brochures, followed by an online webinar a month later. Tests were repeated a month after the webinar, and pre and posttests were compared. Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS 21.0. <bold>Results:</bold> Our study involved 47 parents, including 37 mothers and 10 fathers, with a mean age of 19.6±7.1 months and 23 males. The education level of 30 parents (63.9%) was high school or above. The posttests showed a considerable improvement in the accuracy of the responses to all questions. While there was a statistically significant improvement in all genetic/reproductive health questions, there was a limited increase in the other subgroup questions (p<0.05). Following the questionnaire, 33 (70.2%) of the parents reported lacking knowledge in one or more subjects. <bold>Conclusion:</bold> The study highlights the significance of personalised educational approaches to help parents better manage their child's health with CF. Further research is necessary to examine the long-term health benefits of these interventions for children with CF.