The Impact of Multimedia Education on Knowledge and Self-efficacy among Parents of Children with Asthma: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Introduction: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases among childrenand is considered as a global health problem. According to the guidelines of childhoodAsthma, parental education in order to improve their knowledge and self-efficacyshould be considered in clinical care. Therefore, this study was performed with the purpose of investigating the influence of multimedia education on knowledge and selfefficacy among parents of children with Asthma. Methods: This study is a clinical trial which was carried out on 50 parents of childrenwith Asthma. Three instruments, i.e. demographic information, assessing knowledgeand self-efficacy among parents of children were administrated to collect the required data sets. Reliability and validity of the instruments were assessed and the multimediaeducation was carried out for the experimental group. Data analysis was done using SPSS 13 and descriptive inferential statistical tests (independent t-test and MannWhitney). Results: History of Asthma was present in majority 52% among families of the children and 54% reported smoking in their home. The average scores of knowledgeand self-efficacy in the experimental group showed an increase after multimedia education methods, so that there was a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups. Conclusion: The results obtained in this study also demonstrate that educating parentsthrough multimedia technology increase their knowledge and self–efficacy in their careof children.