Instructional design strategies for developing an interactive video educational program for pregnant teens: a pilot...

Area of Science:

• Health Education
• Adolescent Medicine
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Urban teens attending prenatal clinics require tailored health education.
• Traditional methods may not fully engage this demographic.
• Emerging technologies offer potential for improved educational outreach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess teen mothers' preferences for educational program development.
• To inform the design of computer-assisted and interactive video instruction.
• To identify key demographic and experiential factors influencing preferences.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was administered to 146 teens at an urban maternity hospital's prenatal clinic.
• Data collected on preferences for information sources, narrator characteristics, and technology use.
• Statistical analysis explored associations between demographics and preferences.

Main Results:

• 95% desired more information on healthy pregnancy behaviors.
• Preferred information sources included health professionals (46%) and technology.
• Strong interest in using computers (98%) and experience with video games (83%) were noted.
• Preferences for narrator age (76% <35 years) and gender (54% female) were identified.
• Race correlated with video game experience and narrator preferences.

Conclusions:

• Adolescent mothers are receptive to technology-enhanced health education.
• Program design should consider preferences for interactive formats and relatable narrators.
• Integrating computer-assisted and interactive video instruction can improve prenatal education engagement.