New media interventions for improving maternal health literacy: An experimental study in China using animated content

Maternal health literacy remains a key determinant of maternal and neonatal outcomes in China. Although traditional health communication approaches have been widely used, new media-especially animated educational content-offers a low-cost, scalable alternative. This experimental study examines the effectiveness of animated maternal-health videos in improving maternal health literacy among women of reproductive age in China. Using a randomized controlled pre-post design (N = 240), participants were assigned either to an experimental group exposed to animated content on prenatal nutrition, danger signs, and antenatal care or to a control group receiving standard text-based information. Data were collected using a validated Maternal Health Literacy Scale (Cronbach α = 0.89). Paired t-tests and ANCOVA were used to compare mean score differences. Results show a significant improvement in maternal health literacy for the experimental group (M_pre = 21.84, M_post = 32.45, t = 14.72, p < .001), while the control group showed only minimal improvement. ANCOVA confirmed that animated content remained a significant predictor of literacy after controlling for age, education, and parity (F (1,236) = 28.51, p < .001). The study concludes that animated new-media interventions can significantly enhance maternal health literacy in China, offering valuable policy implications for public health communication.