Comparison of the Effect of Face-to-face and Social Media-based Training on the Self-care of Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) in Birjand

Background: Gestational diabetes is one of the most common medical complications during pregnancy. Disease control is essential because of the increasing prevalence of this disorder, and the most important control factor is self-care behaviors. Objectives: The aim of this study was to compare the effect of face-to-face and social media-based education on self-care of women with gestational diabetes. Methods: This quasi-experimental randomized controlled study was performed on 73 pregnant women with gestational diabetes in Birjand, Iran. Participants completed a self-care and demographic questionnaire and then were divided into three groups (face-to-face, virtual, and control training group). In the face-to-face training group, four training sessions (one hour) were held for one month. The virtual group received two messages per day for 30 days via Telegram, and the control group received only routine training. One month after the intervention, the questionnaire was completed by all individuals. Results: There was no statistically significant difference between the three groups in terms of mean self-care score before the intervention, but after the intervention, the mean self-care score increased in the face-to-face training group (P < 0.001) and social media training group (P = 0.01) compared to the control group (P = 0.22). Conclusions: In this study, the effect of face-to-face and virtual education is the same. Therefore, education-based social networks can be used because of the prevalence of coronavirus and transportation problems of pregnant women.