The Effects of Mobile Learning and Group Discussion for Psychotropic Drug Education on Nursing Students’ Learning, Satisfaction, and Attitude: An Educational Intervention

Background: Familiarity with and management of drug side effects is among nurses' main educational needs with respect to pharmacological care in psychiatry departments. Objectives: This study aimed to determine the effects of psychotropic drug education through mobile learning and group discussion on nursing students’ learning, satisfaction, and attitude. Methods: This educational intervention was done at EbneSina Psychiatric Hospital, affiliated with Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, in 2018. A total of 28 students were randomly divided into 2 groups, each containing 16 and 12 subjects. The first group underwent the educational intervention through mobile learning. The second group received the educational intervention through group discussion. The students’ learning and satisfaction were assessed and compared before and 2 weeks after the intervention. Attitudes were also assessed within the mobile learning group. Data were analyzed using paired and independent sample t-tests. Results: The results revealed a significant difference in satisfaction between the 2 groups after the intervention (38.69 ± 4.78 in the mobile learning group vs 33.13 ± 5.51 in the discussion group; P = 0.02). However, no significant difference was found after adjustment for baseline, age, and sex. The results also indicated that the students in the mobile learning group developed a significantly more positive attitude after the intervention compared to the baseline (P = 0.038). Conclusions: The study findings indicated that the utilization of smartphones for learning about psychotropic drug management in psychiatric departments might be effective in enhancing student's learning outcomes, satisfaction, and attitude. Thus, further studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to be conducted on other medical and nursing apprenticeships.