Comparison of the effect of multimedia and illustrated booklet educational methods on women's knowledge of prenatal care

BACKGROUND: E-learning can increase knowledge in patients and provide an efficient way to enhance the personnel–patient interaction as well as patient-specific education materials. So, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of two methods, multimedia and illustrated booklet educational method, on primigravida women's knowledge of prenatal care. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental study based on pre- and post-tests carried out on 100 primigravida women (50 in electronic and 50 in illustrated booklet groups) referring to Navabsafavi Health Center of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences in 2012. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups of learning interventions, including multimedia and illustrated booklet. Subjects’ knowledge scores were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire with 50 questions. RESULTS: Before training, the mean scores (out of 50) of knowledge in e-learning and illustrated booklet education groups were 29.21 ± 7.4 and 30.01 ± 6.4, respectively. The difference between the mean scores was not significant 4-6 weeks after education. The score was 44.74 ± 3.4 in the e-learning group and 40.74 ± 6.4 in the illustrated booklet group, which showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.01). Also, the level of knowledge increased in e-learning and illustrated booklet groups as 61% and 37%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study showed that the courses of e-learning training improved the knowledge of pregnant women to a higher extent compared to illustrated booklet education. Therefore, different aspects of e-learning, including computer literacy and infrastructure of telecommunications, should be revised.