Audiovisual and printed technology to prevent childhood diarrhea: A clinical trial.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE\nTo compare the effect of using an educational booklet and a video alone or together in promoting maternal self-efficacy to prevent childhood diarrhea.\n\n\nDESIGN AND SAMPLE\nRandomized multicenter clinical trial with 522 mothers of children under 5 years of age from northeastern Brazil. They were allocated into eight groups, according to the city: metropolis - video alone (N\xa0=\xa061), booklet alone (N\xa0=\xa060), booklet and video along (N\xa0=\xa060), without intervention (N\xa0=\xa060); countryside - booklet alone (N\xa0=\xa070), video alone (N\xa0=\xa070), booklet and video along (N\xa0=\xa071), without intervention (N\xa0=\xa070).\n\n\nMEASUREMENTS\nA sociodemographic form and the Maternal Self-Efficacy Scale for preventing early childhood diarrhea.\n\n\nRESULTS\nIncreases in self-efficacy scores were observed in all experimental groups after the educational intervention. Urban mothers living had greater self-efficacy than rural mothers. This result was verified in the video alone group (p\xa0=\xa0.036) and without intervention group (p\xa0=\xa0.003). Mothers in all intervention groups, regardless of the educational intervention used, had higher self-efficacy scores than the comparison group mothers (p\xa0<\xa0.05).\n\n\nCONCLUSION\nThe tested educational technologies promoted maternal self-efficacy to prevent childhood diarrhea, regardless of whether they are applied alone or in combination.