Effects of Storytelling on Educational Self-efficacy in Children with Thalassemia, Aged 7-12 Years Old

Background: Chronic diseases in children lead to failure in the development of self-esteem and productivity. Self-efficacy decreases as one’s behaviors become more complex and difficult to deal with. Storytelling is an observational learning method, which is effective in improving self-efficacy. Aim: to determine the effects of storytelling on self-efficacy in children with thalassemia (aged 7-12 years) in Mashhad, Iran. Methods: In this randomized clinical trial, 60 children with thalassemia, referring to Sarvar Pediatric Hospital of Mashhad in 2014, were randomly divided into control (usual care) and intervention (storytelling) groups. In the intervention group, storytelling was performed during eight sessions (60 min each), whereas the control group received routine care. The samples completed the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire for Children by Morris (2002) before the intervention, immediately after the intervention and after one month. For data analysis, independent t-test and repeated measures ANOVA were performed, using SPSS version 14. Results: In the intervention group, 60.0% of subjects were female and the mean age was 9.4±1.9 years. In the control group, gender distribution was equal and the mean age of participants was 9.5±1.8 years. Based on the repeated measures ANOVA, self-efficacy and educational self-efficacy were significantly different between the two groups during three stages of evaluation (P>001). Conclusion: The obtained results highlighted the effectiveness of storytelling in general and educational self-efficacy of children with thalassemia. This study introduced storytelling as an interesting technique for attracting children to baby-friendly hospitals.