The Impact of a Clinic-Based Educational Videotape on Knowledge and Treatment Behavior of Men with Gonorrhea

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Abstract
The impact of a ten-minute, soap opera-style videotape on knowledge and treatment behavior of black men with gonorrhea was tested in randomized clinical trials. The videotape, shown to individual patients after diagnosis, produced a sizeable increase in the percentage of patients who returned for their test-of-cure examination: while only 43.3% of control group patients returned, 53.5% of those in the videotape group did so; .chi.2(1) = 9.0; P < 0.003. In a follow-up study, similar results were found: videotape group (59.0%), control group (39.1%); .chi.2(1) = 6.2; P < 0.015. The videotape also produced large, significant increases in patient knowledge, as measured by a test administered during patients'' clinic visit (P < 0.0001). No measureable effect of the videotape was detected on patients'' willingness to refer sexual contacts for treatment. The findings suggest that clinic-based educational materials, particularly soap opera-style videotapes that engender audience identification, create emotional significance for the viewer, and model requisite communication skills, may have a significant role to play in control of sexually transmitted diseases.

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