Introduction: Prematurity is a global health problem, with high rates of infant morbidity and mortality. Parents take on numerous responsibilities with the birth of a premature child, requiring specialized care and supportive therapies to stimulate development. The risks associated with premature birth bring emotional challenges and insecurities about how to stimulate the child. Developing strategies based on accessible educational technologies to support families can minimize stressful situations.
Objective: To develop and evaluate the usability of an educational mobile application aimed at parents of premature babies, aiming to provide information and guidance on developmental and health care.
Method: The study, conducted in São Paulo, Brazil and approved by the Ethics Committee, consisted of three phases: a) interviewing 24 parents to identify the type of information needed to assist with baby care and their expectations regarding the content provided; b) application development, usability assessment using the Systems Usability Scale (SUS), and content validity; c) use of the app by a group of 20 people, including professionals and parents.
Results: The satisfaction survey revealed that 90% of parents responded that the app helped them stimulate their children, reassuring them, and clarifying their doubts. When asked about the language, ease of navigation, clarity, and usefulness of the information, 100% of evaluators responded satisfactorily. Usability and the content validity index (CVI) received excellent ratings from specialists (SUS = 85.4 and CVI = 0.9) and parents (SUS = 82.5).
Conclusions: The use of technology in healthcare represents a significant advance, especially in mobile technologies. The developed app proved to be an effective educational tool, capable of guiding parents on their children's development and health, facilitating safe home care and addressing the challenges of prematurity.