Comparison of the Effect of Electronic Learning and Blended Learning on the Empowerment of the Caregivers of Cancer Patients Under Chemotherapy

Objective: Cancer is a chronic disease that affects the person and family. E-learning is a common method of educating for patients and caregivers. The present study aimed to compare the impact of electronic learning and blended learning on the empowerment of the caregivers of cancer patients under chemotherapy. Methods: This clinical trial was performed in the main chemotherapy center of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences during October 2018-December 2020. A total of 123 caregivers of cancer patients who were under chemotherapy were selected through simple random sampling based on drawing in two intervention groups and one control group. The empowerment of caregivers was evaluated using the caregivers’ empowerment questionnaire in all three groups at the beginning of the study, immediately after the intervention, and one month after intervention. The data were analyzed by descriptive and statistical tests utilizing the SPSS software version 22. Results: The comparison of knowledge scores between the two intervention groups shows not significant difference between the two groups (P=0.3). Comparison of attitude scores demonstrated the group intervention one had a better attitude than the two others groups after intervention (P0.003). The mean performance score increased in both intervention groups with a significant difference (P=000). No significant differences were observed between demographic data and knowledge, attitude and performance of three groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Our results indicated that electronic and blended learning types affected the attitude and performance of patients’ caregivers. Therefore, blended learning could be applied as a source of enhancing the empowerment of caregivers.