Comparison of Multimedia and SMS Education on the Physical Activity of Diabetic Patients: An Application of Health Promotion Model

Physical activity is a vital element in diabetic patients and training of this behavior is important. Therefore, the present study aims to compare the effect of multimedia and short message service (SMS) based on the health promotion model on the physical activity of patients with Type 2 diabetes. In this clinical trial study, 37 subjects in the SMS group and 40 subjects in the multimedia group were studied. Subjects in the SMS group received training messages based on the health promotion model for 2 weeks, and the subjects of multimedia group received a teaching CD based on the health promotion model. Both groups completed the questionnaires at the beginning of the study, 2 weeks after training and 3 months after the 2nd stage. The participants in the 2 groups were similar in terms of demographic variables. The comparison of the 2 groups showed that there was a significant difference between 2 groups in terms of the perceived self - efficacy (p = 0.032), benefits (p < 0.001), family (p = 0.024), and friend support (p = 0.002), however, the perceived health status (p = 0.271) and barriers (p = 0.085) had no statistically significant difference between 2 groups during the study. Additionally, 3 months after the education, the mean metabolic equivalent of task (MET) increased to 2634.71 ± 502.01 and 2614.03 ± 592.45 in SMS and multimedia groups respectively; there was no significant difference between the 2 groups (P = 0.662). The results of this study showed more usefulness of multimedia rather than SMS education in changing the belief of diabetic patients about the physical activity and also the effectiveness of both educational methods for promoting physical activity of diabetic patients.