Effectiveness of videotape programs for health education

Includes bibliographical references (pages 58-60)The purpose of this study was to create a videotape\ud program in Spanish for women in prenatal classes and\ud clinics and to evaluate the videotape's efficacy as a\ud tool for knowledge and attitude changes in the target\ud population. The target population was Spanish speaking\ud women of low education and low income levels. The study\ud was conducted at the Santa Barbara County Health Care\ud Services' prenatal clinics.\ud The video tape was designed to promote relaxed and\ud confident behavior in women during labor and delivery.\ud Research shows that a calm and positive emotional state\ud makes labor and birth more comfortable for the mother and\ud safer for mother and baby. The content of the video\ud included breathing techniques, physical and mental\ud relaxation techniques, labor positions, techniques for the\ud expulsion phase of labor and coaching techniques.\ud The script was developed from the author's consultations\ud with professionals, and from her observations\ud of the target population in classes. An extensive\ud literature review also provided substantiation for the\ud script's concepts. The script was written in English\ud and submitted for professional review. With\ud modification, the script was translated into Spanish and\ud reviewed by a panel of bilingual health professionals.\ud The script was then tested with small groups of clients\ud and modified as needed before production.\ud The final edited tape was tested with 69 women.\ud Subjects were divided into two groups. The test group was\ud evaluated for knowledge after viewing the video tape. The\ud control group was only evaluated for pre-existing\ud knowledge. The results of the two groups were compared.\ud Santa Barbara County Health Care Services and the\ud March of Dimes jointly own the video tape. The tape\ud entitled "Preparacion para el Nacimiento" is available at \ud the California State University at Northridge Library\ud along with this thesis