The impact of educational films and pamphlets on the knowledge and attitude of high schools students about thalassemia

Thalassemia disease is a public health problem with a large part of the annual country budget allocated. However, effective training methods can play an important role in increasing awareness and preventing thalassemia new births. This study focuses on two educational films and pamphlets and their impact on the knowledge and attitude of female students in Garmeh and Jajarm cities. In this experimental study conducted in 2011, 489 people participated. The participants were classified to three groups by multistage sampling method; one group was exposed to the pamphlet; the second group to the film, and the third was considered the control. Then, their knowledge and attitude prior and after the interventions were evaluated and compared thorugh validated and reliable questionnaires. Finally, SPSS 16, paired t-test, and variance analysis were used for data analysis. Before the interventions, the three groups had no significant differences in the level of awareness but they were different after exposure (p < 0.05). The exposed groups showed a higher level of awareness and attitude after the exposure. Given the effectiveness of such films and pamphlets, their application to increase the awareness of students is recommended to teachers and the decision makers.