Comparison of the effect of parenting education through multimedia and social media on parenting stress of nurses in COVID Pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: The prevalence of the COVID virus has increased nurses’ stress and has affected aspects of their lives such as nurses' relationships with their children. This study aimed to compare the effect of parenting education through multimedia and social media on nurses' parental stress in the COVID pandemic. Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted in 2020 in the selected hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Hospitals were randomly assigned to experimental (multimedia and social media) and control groups (n = 20). Sixty female nurses with children aged 2–5 years were recruited by convenience sampling. Four DVDs, each containing 5 training sessions, were presented to nurses in the multimedia group for four weeks. In the social media group, educational materials were presented in the PowerPoint voiced and delivered to nurses with Rubika and WhatsApp messengers in 20 sessions over four weeks. There was no intervention in the control group. Data were collected using Parenting Stress Index before and two weeks after the intervention. Results There was no significant difference between nurses' parental stress scores in multimedia, social media, and control groups before the study (P = 0.956); while this difference was significant two weeks after the intervention (P < 0.0001). So that the nurses' parental stress score in the multimedia group decreased from 83.47 ± 15.46 to 71.16 ± 9.97 (P < 0.0001), in the social media group from 81.5 ± 15.34 to 51.11 ± 3.479 (P < 0.0001), and in the control group increased from 82.9 ± 15.23 to 82.30 ± 15.74 (P = 0.809). Parenting education was more effective in the social media group (P < 0.0001). Conclusion Parenting education with social media has a more impact on nurses' parental stress compared to multimedia. Therefore, using this method for psychological training is recommended to reduce nurses’ stress and improve their performance.