Effectiveness of a Web-Based Medication Education Course on Pregnant Women’s Medication Information Literacy and Decision Self-Efficacy: Randomized Controlled Trial

BackgroundMedication-related adverse events are common in pregnant women, and most are due to misunderstanding medication information. The identification of appropriate medication information sources requires adequate medical information literacy (MIL). It is important for pr...

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Main Authors: Suya Li, Hui-Jun Chen, Jie Zhou, Yi-Bei Zhouchen, Rong Wang, Jinyi Guo, Sharon R Redding, Yan-Qiong Ouyang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JMIR Publications 2025-01-01
Series:Journal of Medical Internet Research
Online Access:https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e54148
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author Suya Li
Hui-Jun Chen
Jie Zhou
Yi-Bei Zhouchen
Rong Wang
Jinyi Guo
Sharon R Redding
Yan-Qiong Ouyang
author_facet Suya Li
Hui-Jun Chen
Jie Zhou
Yi-Bei Zhouchen
Rong Wang
Jinyi Guo
Sharon R Redding
Yan-Qiong Ouyang
author_sort Suya Li
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundMedication-related adverse events are common in pregnant women, and most are due to misunderstanding medication information. The identification of appropriate medication information sources requires adequate medical information literacy (MIL). It is important for pregnant women to comprehensively evaluate the risk of medication treatment, self-monitor their medication response, and actively participate in decision-making to reduce medication-related adverse events. ObjectiveThis study aims to examine the effectiveness of a medication education course on a web-based platform in improving pregnant women’s MIL and decision self-efficacy. MethodsA randomized controlled trial was conducted. Pregnant women were recruited from January to June 2021 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of a large hospital in a major city in central China. A total of 108 participants were randomly divided into a control group (CG), which received routine prenatal care from nurses and physicians, and an intervention group (IG), which received an additional 3-week web-based medication education course based on the theory of planned behavior as part of routine prenatal care. Participants completed a Medication Information Literacy Scale and a decision self-efficacy questionnaire at baseline, upon completion of the intervention, and at a 4-week follow-up. Generalized estimation equations (GEE) were used to analyze the main effect (time and grouping) and interaction effect (grouping×time) of the 2 outcomes. The CONSORT-EHEALTH (V 1.6.1) checklist was used to guide the reporting of this randomized controlled trial. ResultsA total of 91 pregnant women (48 in the IG and 43 in the CG) completed the questionnaires at the 3 time points. The results of GEE indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in time×group interactions of MIL between the 2 groups (F2=3.12; P=.21). The results of the main effect analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in MIL between the 2 groups at T1 and T2 (F1=17.79; P<.001). Moreover, the results of GEE indicated that there was a significant difference in decision self-efficacy regarding the time factor, grouping factor, and time×group interactions (F2=21.98; P<.001). The results of the simple effect analysis indicated a statistically significant difference in decision self-efficacy between the 2 groups at T1 (F1=36.29; P<.001) and T2 (F1=36.27; P<.001) compared to T0. Results showed that MIL and decision self-efficacy in the IG were found to be significantly higher than those in the CG (d=0.81; P<.001 and d=1.26; P<.001, respectively), and they remained significantly improved at the 4-week follow-up (d=0.59; P<.001 and d=1.27; P<.001, respectively). ConclusionsWeb-based medication education courses based on the theory of planned behavior can effectively improve pregnant women’s MIL and decision self-efficacy, and they can be used as supplementary education during routine prenatal care. Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100041817; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=66685
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spelling doaj-art-6d7bff4aa6d94a66962af6bc959e87462025-01-22T21:30:35ZengJMIR PublicationsJournal of Medical Internet Research1438-88712025-01-0127e5414810.2196/54148Effectiveness of a Web-Based Medication Education Course on Pregnant Women’s Medication Information Literacy and Decision Self-Efficacy: Randomized Controlled TrialSuya Lihttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1388-1308Hui-Jun Chenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8444-7157Jie Zhouhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2183-873XYi-Bei Zhouchenhttps://orcid.org/0009-0002-0031-4889Rong Wanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8350-1086Jinyi Guohttps://orcid.org/0009-0009-0483-7004Sharon R Reddinghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3430-4243Yan-Qiong Ouyanghttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5302-5944 BackgroundMedication-related adverse events are common in pregnant women, and most are due to misunderstanding medication information. The identification of appropriate medication information sources requires adequate medical information literacy (MIL). It is important for pregnant women to comprehensively evaluate the risk of medication treatment, self-monitor their medication response, and actively participate in decision-making to reduce medication-related adverse events. ObjectiveThis study aims to examine the effectiveness of a medication education course on a web-based platform in improving pregnant women’s MIL and decision self-efficacy. MethodsA randomized controlled trial was conducted. Pregnant women were recruited from January to June 2021 in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of a large hospital in a major city in central China. A total of 108 participants were randomly divided into a control group (CG), which received routine prenatal care from nurses and physicians, and an intervention group (IG), which received an additional 3-week web-based medication education course based on the theory of planned behavior as part of routine prenatal care. Participants completed a Medication Information Literacy Scale and a decision self-efficacy questionnaire at baseline, upon completion of the intervention, and at a 4-week follow-up. Generalized estimation equations (GEE) were used to analyze the main effect (time and grouping) and interaction effect (grouping×time) of the 2 outcomes. The CONSORT-EHEALTH (V 1.6.1) checklist was used to guide the reporting of this randomized controlled trial. ResultsA total of 91 pregnant women (48 in the IG and 43 in the CG) completed the questionnaires at the 3 time points. The results of GEE indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in time×group interactions of MIL between the 2 groups (F2=3.12; P=.21). The results of the main effect analysis showed that there were statistically significant differences in MIL between the 2 groups at T1 and T2 (F1=17.79; P<.001). Moreover, the results of GEE indicated that there was a significant difference in decision self-efficacy regarding the time factor, grouping factor, and time×group interactions (F2=21.98; P<.001). The results of the simple effect analysis indicated a statistically significant difference in decision self-efficacy between the 2 groups at T1 (F1=36.29; P<.001) and T2 (F1=36.27; P<.001) compared to T0. Results showed that MIL and decision self-efficacy in the IG were found to be significantly higher than those in the CG (d=0.81; P<.001 and d=1.26; P<.001, respectively), and they remained significantly improved at the 4-week follow-up (d=0.59; P<.001 and d=1.27; P<.001, respectively). ConclusionsWeb-based medication education courses based on the theory of planned behavior can effectively improve pregnant women’s MIL and decision self-efficacy, and they can be used as supplementary education during routine prenatal care. Trial RegistrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2100041817; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=66685https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e54148
spellingShingle Suya Li
Hui-Jun Chen
Jie Zhou
Yi-Bei Zhouchen
Rong Wang
Jinyi Guo
Sharon R Redding
Yan-Qiong Ouyang
Effectiveness of a Web-Based Medication Education Course on Pregnant Women’s Medication Information Literacy and Decision Self-Efficacy: Randomized Controlled Trial
Journal of Medical Internet Research
title Effectiveness of a Web-Based Medication Education Course on Pregnant Women’s Medication Information Literacy and Decision Self-Efficacy: Randomized Controlled Trial
title_full Effectiveness of a Web-Based Medication Education Course on Pregnant Women’s Medication Information Literacy and Decision Self-Efficacy: Randomized Controlled Trial
title_fullStr Effectiveness of a Web-Based Medication Education Course on Pregnant Women’s Medication Information Literacy and Decision Self-Efficacy: Randomized Controlled Trial
title_full_unstemmed Effectiveness of a Web-Based Medication Education Course on Pregnant Women’s Medication Information Literacy and Decision Self-Efficacy: Randomized Controlled Trial
title_short Effectiveness of a Web-Based Medication Education Course on Pregnant Women’s Medication Information Literacy and Decision Self-Efficacy: Randomized Controlled Trial
title_sort effectiveness of a web based medication education course on pregnant women s medication information literacy and decision self efficacy randomized controlled trial
url https://www.jmir.org/2025/1/e54148
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