Effectiveness of Online Health Literacy Program for COVID-19 Prevention among Teachers in Childcare Centers: A Quasi-experimental Study

Abstract

COVID-19 is a pandemic disease and has spread rapidly across the world including in Thailand, and requires prevention and control especially in children. Teachers play an important role in caring for children in childcare centers. Although the infection rate of children is less than adults, they may easily spread it in childcare centers and to their families, teachers and communities. Therefore, the health literacy and preventive behavior of teachers should be enhanced to prevent infection and transmission of COVID-19 in childcare centers. This quasi-experimental study aimed to test the effects of the Online Health Literacy Program for COVID-19 prevention and the preventive behavior of teachers in childcare centers. The experimental group (n = 28) participated in the program which consists of a package for self-directed learning, small group participation, and learning outcome evaluation. The control group (n = 28) received a COVID-19 prevention guidebook through self-directed learning. A Demographic Questionnaire, the Health Literacy Questionnaire, and the COVID-19 Preventive Behavior Questionnaire were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Wilcoxon signed rank test. The results revealed that teachers in the experimental group had a statistically significant improvement in COVID-19 preventive behavior when compared with the control group, one-week after completion of the program. This finding suggests that the program with multiple activities delivered online could enhance the COVID-19 preventive behavior of participants. Such an intervention could be directly beneficial to school nurses and other nurses to enhance health behaviors among teachers in childcare centers. School nurses and other nurses should develop online courses to promote the preventive behavior of people in childcare centers and schools, and need the support of educationalists and government for this.