PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of face-to-face versus multimedia education on the adjustment of patients to an intestinal ostomy. DESIGN: Randomized clinical trial. SUBJECT AND SETTING: The sample comprised 135 patients with new ostomies randomly assigned to 3 groups (control, face-to-face, and multimedia education). Data were collected from November 2018 to May 2019; the study setting was Rasul-e Akram and Imam Khomeini Hospitals, Tehran, Iran. METHODS: The control group received no additional ostomy education. The face-to-face education group was educated individually in the hospital environment during four 3-hour sessions delivered over 4 consecutive days. The multimedia group viewed a multimedia educational program using a laptop. Data were collected at baseline and 3 months after the intervention. Data collection forms comprised a demographic questionnaire and the Ostomy Adjustment Inventory-23 (OAI-23). RESULTS: Before the intervention, the mean OAI-23 adjustment score did not significantly differ among the 3 groups (P = .752). Three months after the intervention, the mean score of adjustment score in the multimedia software group was significantly higher than those of the face-to-face and control groups (P = .000). In addition, the mean score of adjustment of the face-to-face education group was significantly higher than that of the control group (P = .002). CONCLUSION: Findings indicate that multimedia education was associated with higher levels of adjustment when compared to face-to-face teaching.

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