A Comparative Study of Face-to-Face and Social Media-Based Education on Self-Efficacy and Health Literacy in Women with Gestational Diabetes

Marzieh  Torshizi; Azam  Saeidikia; Seyyedeh Adeleh  Rahmanian; Mohaddeseh  Hosseinzadeh

doi:10.18502/ijdl.v26i2.21919

Marzieh Torshizi School of Nursing and Midwifery, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Azam Saeidikia Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Zahedan University of Medical Sciences, Zahedan, Iran
Seyyedeh Adeleh Rahmanian Shirvan School of Nursing, North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences, Bojnurd, Iran
Mohaddeseh Hosseinzadeh Department of Nursing, Ferdows Faculty of Medical Sciences, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijdl.v26i2.21919

Keywords: Gestational diabetes, Patient education, Social media, Self-efficacy, Health literacy

Abstract

Background: Gestational diabetes is one of the most common pregnancy-related disorders and is associated with adverseoutcomes for both mother and fetus. Enhancing health literacy and self-efficacy in these patients plays a key role in better diseasemanagement. This study aimed to compare the effects of face-to-face education and social media-based education on self-efficacy and health literacy among pregnant women with gestational diabetes.

Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted with the participation of 75 pregnant women diagnosed with gestationaldiabetes, who were randomly assigned to three groups: face-to-face education, virtual (social media-based) education, and control(25 participants in each group). The educational intervention lasted four weeks for the two intervention groups. Researchinstruments included self-efficacy and health literacy questionnaires, which were completed before and after the intervention.

Results: The mean scores of self-efficacy and health literacy significantly increased in both the face-to-face and social media-based education groups after the intervention (p < 0.05), whereas no significant change was observed in the control group. Posthoc analysis revealed that the mean changes in the intervention groups were significantly greater than those in the control group;however, no significant difference was found between the two intervention groups.

Conclusion: Both face-to-face and social media-based education are effective approaches to improving self-efficacy and healthliteracy in pregnant women with gestational diabetes. Given the widespread accessibility of technology, virtual education can beconsidered a complementary method to promote health indicators in this patient population.