The effect of digital storytelling on nursing students' compliance with isolation precautions and their knowledge levels: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundDigital storytelling is a teaching tool that can help nursing students master the curriculum and improve their skills. This study investigated the effect of digital storytelling on nursing students' knowledge levels and compliance with isolation precautions.MethodologyA pretest‐posttest open‐label randomized controlled trial. This study was conducted in the nursing department of the faculty of health sciences of a university in Türkiye. The sample consisted of 109 fourth‐year nursing students divided into experimental (n = 66) and control (n = 43) groups. Data were collected using a Demographic Characteristics Questionnaire (DCQ), the Isolation Knowledge Test (IKT), the Questionnaire of Students' Opinions on Digital Storytelling (QSODS) and the Scale of Compliance with Isolation Precautions (SCIP). The experimental group participated a digital storytelling activity, whilst the control group received an education based on the curriculum. The data were analysed using the Mann–Whitney U test, the Wilcoxon test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and the Spearman correlation test.Results and ConclusionsThe experimental group had significantly higher posttest IKT and SCIP scores than the control group (p < 0.05). Both groups had lower IKT and SCIP scores 2 months after the experiment. However, the change was much smaller in the experimental group. Digital storytelling helped the experimental group participants learn about isolation precautions and how to comply with them. Digital storytelling also promotes learning retention. In conclusion, digital tools are effective in distance learning.