title: Audiovisual Presentations on a Handheld PC are Preferred As an Educational Tool by NICU Parents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health literacy is critical for understanding complex medical problems and necessary for the well being of the patient. Printed educational materials (PM) have limitations in explaining the dynamics of a disease process. Multimedia formats may be useful for enhancing the educational process.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether a printed format or animation with commentary on a handheld personal computer (PC) is preferred as an educational tool by parents of a baby in the NICU.
  
  
  METHODS
  PARENTS EVALUATED TWO FORMATS: A 1-page illustrated document from the American Heart Association explaining patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and animation with commentary on a handheld PC that explained the physiology of PDA in 1 minute. The reading grade level of the PM was 8.6 versus 18.6 for the audio portion of the animated presentation. Parents viewed each format and completed a four-item questionnaire. Parents rated both formats and indicated their preference as printed, animation, or both.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty-six parents participated in the survey. Parents preferred animation over PM (50% vs. 17.4%. p = 0.02); 39.1% expressed that the animation was excellent; whereas 4.3% expressed that the PM was excellent (p<0.001). The order of presentation of formats, sex, age, and educational level of parents did not influence the method preferred (p>0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Parents preferred animation on a small screen handheld PC despite a much higher language level. Because handheld PCs are portable and inexpensive, they can be used effectively at the bedside with low-cost animation to enhance understanding of complex disease conditions.
authors.affiliation: WellSpan Health - Pediatrics , York, Pennsylvania, United States.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Alur
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cirelli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goodstein
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bell
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liss
keywords: Health literacy; PDAs Summary; handheld computers; patient communication; patient education