The impact of a clinic-based educational videotape on knowledge and treatment behavior of men with gonorrhea

The impact of a ten-minute, soap opera-style videotape on knowledge and treatment behavior of black men with gonorrhea was tested in randomized clinical trials. The videotape, shown to individual patients after diagnosis, produced a sizeable increase in the percentage of patients who returned for their test-of-cure examination: while only 43.3% of control group patients returned, 53.5% of those in the videotape group did so; chi 2(1) = 9.0; P less than 0.003. In a follow-up study, similar results were found: videotape group (59.0%), control group (39.1%); chi 2(1) = 6.2; P less than 0.015. The videotape also produced large, significant increases in patient knowledge, as measured by a test administered during patients' clinic visit (P less than 0.0001). No measureable effect of the videotape was detected on patients' willingness to refer sexual contacts for treatment. The findings suggest that clinic-based educational materials, particularly soap opera-style videotapes that engender audience identification, create emotional significance for the viewer, and model requisite communication skills, may have a significant role to play in control of sexually transmitted diseases.