Development and testing of a CD-ROM program for improving adolescent knowledge of inflammatory bowel disease

The aim of this study was to design a theory-based educational program for adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) using an interactive multimedia CD-ROM and to test its effectiveness in improving knowledge in IBD.

Curriculum-based instruction using educational theory and principles was designed for adolescents on an interactive multimedia CD-ROM. Twenty subjects completed summative evaluation of the CD-ROM measuring gain in knowledge about IBD immediately and 9 months after instruction.

Subjects found the CD-ROM to be informative, appealing, and easy to use. The mean baseline score of the adolescents on the Crohn's and Colitis Knowledge questionnaire was 12.2 (standard deviation 5.14, range 3-24). After an average of 30 minutes of self-directed learning, adolescent subjects increased their posttest score to a mean of 19.8, a gain of 7.6 points over baseline (95% confidence interval 5.2-10.1, P < 0.0001). Knowledge of medications, disease complications, and gastrointestinal structure and function was gained and retained upon retesting at 9 months with a mean Crohn's and Colitis Knowledge questionnaire score of 17.5 (standard deviation 3.9, range 12-26), which was still an improvement over the mean pretest knowledge score of 12.2 (P < 0.001).

Adolescents with IBD have low baseline knowledge about their disease. A rigorously developed interactive educational tool is now available for instructing adolescent patients about their IBD.