Effect of Face-to-Face and Multimedia Methods of Education on Children’s Constipation Severity

Background: Constipation is a common problem among children. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of face-to-face and multimedia education on the severity of functional constipation in children. Methods: It was a two-group pre-test post-test quasi-experimental study that was carried out at the Specialized Clinics of Pediatrics affiliated with the Arak University of Medical Sciences, Arak, Iran. The sample consisted of 96 eligible children in the age range of 6 to 12 years that were randomly assigned to face-to-face (n=48) and multimedia (n=48) groups. Functional constipation was detected by Rome ΙΙΙ criteria. Data were collected by a demographic characteristics form and the Constipation Assessment Scale (CAS) before intervention and one month later in both groups. In the face-to-face group, education was provided using two 15-min training sessions in the form of a lecture in the presence of the mother. The multimedia training group received a 15-min training video. Both groups were given a pamphlet. The data were analyzed by Fisher’s exact test, independent t-test, and paired t-test using SPSS version 16. Results: There was no significant difference between the groups’ constipation severity before the intervention (P=0.12). There was a significant difference between the mean score of constipation severity between the face-to-face (P=0.01) and multimedia (P=0.001) groups before and after the intervention. However, the Mean±SD score of constipation severity after the intervention was 7.05±1.79 in the face-to-face group and 5.91±1.69 in the multimedia group (P=0.001). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that both educational interventions reduced the severity of constipation in children. However, multimedia training was more effective than faceto- face education so that it reduced the severity of constipation to a greater extent.