A Study to Assess the Effectiveness of an Interactive CD Rom on Technique of Using a Newly Designed Community Health Bag

Although the community health bag is the most important tool for home care nurses, there is very limited researches were carried out on this indispensable home care tool which needed a metamorphosis. Hence an innovative alternate design of community health bag and a computer assisted programmed instruction for learning Bag technique were developed.

Objectives were to design an innovative model of ‘community health bag’, develop an interactive CD-ROM on ‘Bag Technique’ and to compare the effectiveness of an ‘Interactive CD-ROM’ and ‘Lecture Cum Demonstration’ in terms of knowledge, skills, and performance.

This descriptive cum experimental study was conducted using a ‘pre-test post-test parallel group design’. A Network sample of community health nursing experts (N=30) were assessed using Semi structured questionnaires, interview schedules and Delphi Discussions to develop an innovative design of community health bag.

Study elicited distinct preferences of specialists to make the bag more comfortable and efficient. Majority of the respondents opted for multiple carrying facilities and a weight of 3 - 4 kg for the bag. Respondents also suggested a waterproof, washable fabric, dark in colour, and an affordable rate of ₹.500/- for the community bags. They identified major principles and steps for performance of bag technique.

Subsequently two equivalent groups of Graduate Nursing Students (N=60) were randomly selected. One group was given a lecture cum demonstration and the other group was given the interactive CD-ROM. The pre and post tests were administered using structured questionnaires and checklists.

During immediate post tests, and delayed post tests, Interactive CD-ROM group scored significantly higher knowledge, skill and total scores than the lecture cum demonstration group (p < 0.01 for all scores). The percentile increment in skill scores and total scores were significantly high (p < 0.01 for both) in interactive CD ROM group.

Thus interactive CD ROM on bag technique was found more effective than the traditional methods.