Comparison of the effectiveness of teaching “breast cancer in a simple language” via a user-friendly booklet or through WhatsApp on the learning rate and emotional status in healthy women: a randomized pre-test/post-test experimental design

Abstract

ABSTRACT The prognosis of breast cancer, depends significantly on its stage. However, early diagnosis happens infrequently due to delayed seeking of medical attention; and women’s knowledge about the disease is important for timely diagnosis. We conducted this study to examine whether education offered via a traditional booklet or WhatsApp yielded superior results in increasing women’s breast cancer knowledge. For this, an educational content organized in an easy language was delivered by two different methods to women attending our clinic: Video messages were sent to Group A by WhatsApp, and Group B received an easy-to-use attractive small book. Prticipants filled in a pre-test before, and a post-test three months after the intervention. Totally, 164 women completed the study; 86 in Group A, and 78 in Group B. The mean age was 42 (18–61) years. The two groups matched by age and level of education, and pre-test knowledge scores were statistically similar (p-value >0.05). The learning rate (p = 0.040) and the satisfaction rate (p = 0.014) were significantly higher in Group A, and the emotional improvement was also more prominent (but not statistically significant) in this group. There was no significant association between the studying rate and the rate of learning. This study showed that a short easy teaching program about breast cancer delivered via WhatsApp caused a higher rate of learning than the traditional paperback mode. Considering that WhatsApp is a very popular mobile application, this is a very useful finding in the topic of women’s health.