Comparing the Impacts of Computer-Assisted Multimedia Education and Traditional Method on Clinical Parameters of Patients Receiving Hemodialysis

Patients who receive hemodialysis need effective education in order to maintain their health. One of the effective methods for education is computer-assisted education. The aim of this study was to compare the impacts of computer-assisted multimedia education and traditional method on clinical parameters of patients receiving hemodialysis. In this interventional study, all patients referring to four hemodialysis centers located in Tabriz, Iran, were recruited and allocated to the experimental and the control groups. Patients’ clinical parameters were measured and documented in a checklist both before and three months after the study intervention. The inter-rate correlation coefficient of the checklist was 0.99. While receiving hemodialysis, patients in the experimental group used the ‘Hemodialysis Essential Care (HEC)’ multimedia application on a laptop. Patients in the control group were educated by using the traditional face-to-face lecture method. After entering the data into the SPSS software (v. 13.0), they were analyzed by conducting the independent- and the paired samples t test, chi-square, McNemar, and Fisher exact tests. After the study intervention, patients’ systolic and diastolic blood pressures, itching, and serum urea decreased significantly in both the experimental (32 patients) and the control (30 patients) groups (P < 0.05). However, interdialytic weight gain significantly decreased only in the experimental group (P < 0.05). The differences between the study groups regarding other parameters were statistically significant neither before nor after the study intervention (P > 0.05). Computer-assisted education by using the ‘HEC’ multimedia application was as effective as the traditional face-to-face lecture method in improving patients’ clinical parameters. Accordingly, this educational application can be used for facilitating patient education and improving care quality.