RESUMO
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of mobile-based education in comparison with booklet-based education on mothers' perception on antibiotics. DESIGN AND METHODS: This quasi-experimental study was performed on 160 mothers of children aged 1 to 6 years (80 in the experimental group and 80 in the control group) who referred to the urban community health centers in Iran. Both groups were taught about the proper use of antibiotics. The experimental group was taught using a mobile application and the control group was taught using a booklet. The Parental Perception on Antibiotics (PAPA) scale was used to collect data at the beginning and two to four weeks after the educational intervention. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 19. RESULTS: The results showed that 91.9% of mothers used the knowledge of nurses or other health care providers and 86.3% used their previous experience as the source of information about antibiotics. Also, mothers' perceptions about antibiotics in the subscales of knowledge and beliefs, behaviors, adherence and awareness about antibiotics resistance in the experimental group improved significantly compared to the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Mobile-based education was more effective in improving mothers' perception on antibiotics than booklet-based education. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Health care providers can use mobile-based educational method for different groups of society to promote health in various fields.
