the impact of multimedia software support on the knowledge and self-care behaviors of patients with type 2 diabetes: a randomized clinical trial

Introduction: education is the most effective and economical part of diabetes treatment. the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a training program with multimedia software on the knowledge and self-care behaviors of patients with type 2 diabetes. methods: this study was a randomized controlled clinical trial in which 60 patients referred to diabetes clinic at arak city were divided randomly into experimental (n=30) and control (n=30) groups. the instruments for collecting data were summary of diabetes self-care activities questionnaire and knowledge of self-care in patients with diabetes. data were collected before and 2 months after the intervention in the both groups. educational program with equal content was applied for both experimental group (self-care program with multimedia software support) & control group (lecture and presentation with powerpoint). data analysis was done using spss ver.13. results: implementation of the self-care program with multimedia software support resulted in improvements in patients’ self-care behaviors in the experimental group, whereas these behaviors had not significant changes in the control group after eight weeks. there was a significant difference in the mean score of knowledge in both the experiment and control groups before and after the intervention. conclusion: considering beneficial effects of training program with multimedia software support on the knowledge and self-care behaviors and the importance of this issue, suggested that the patients preferably provide terms of use of educational software for themselves.