Authors
Department of Medical Library and Information Sciences, School of Medical Management and Information Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Maintaining and improving the health situation of children
requires them to become more aware about personal hygiene through proper education. Based on
several studies, teachings provided through informal methods are fully understandable for children.
Therefore, the goal of this study is to compare the effects of creative drama and storytelling education
methods on increasing the awareness of children regarding personal hygiene.
METHODS: This is an applied study conducted using semiempirical method in two groups. The
study population consisted of 85 children participating in 4th center for Institute for the Intellectual
Development of Children and Young Adults in Isfahan, 40 of which were randomly selected and
placed in storytelling and creative drama groups with 20 members each. The data gathering tool
was a questionnaire created by the researchers whose content validity was confirmed by health
education experts. The gathered information were analyzed using both descriptive (average and
standard deviation) and analytical (independent t‑test and paired t‑test) statistical methods.
RESULTS: The findings showed that there was a meaningful difference between the awareness score
of both groups before and after intervention. The average awareness score of storytelling group was
increased from 50.69 to 86.83 while the average score of creative drama group was increased from
57.37 to 85.09. Furthermore, according to paired t‑test results, there was no significant difference
between average scores of storytelling and creative drama groups.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of the current study showed that although both storytelling and creative
drama methods are effective in increasing the awareness of children regarding personal hygiene,
there is no significant difference between the two methods.
Keywords
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