A group of physiotherapists from Australia recently conducted a trial that looked at the effect of adding an infographic about exercise to the generic education session given to women with gestational diabetes. The infographic was co-designed by women who had had gestational diabetes.
The trial recruited seventy women with gestational diabetes. The infographic included information about the benefits of physical activity during a gestational diabetes pregnancy and the duration, frequency and types of suitable physical activities.
Provision of the infographic led to a clinically important between-group difference in knowledge (mean between-group difference = 12 percent). Self-efficacy (confidence in one's ability to undertake an activity – in this case, exercise) also improved significantly more in the exercise group (by 2.5 points on a 0-to-10 scale).
This is an important finding for an intervention as simple as providing an infographic as a supplement to a clinical education class.
> From: Harrison, J Physiother 66 (2020) 243-248 . All rights reserved to Australian Physiotherapy Association. Click here for the online summary.
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