Efficacy of an educational multimedia in promoting public health literacy on age-related cognitive-communicative health: a randomized controlled trial

Amid the alarming global forecast of age-related cognitive-communicative disorders like dementia, Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) are poised to play a crucial role in dementia-related services, ranging from counselling to end-of-life care. A key step in this direction is enhancing public health literacy regarding optimal age-linked cognitive-communicative health. Given the potential of educational multimedia (EM) programs to promote public health literacy, and the recent development of one such EM in our research, this study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of an SLP-designed and facilitated EM in changing young adults (YAs) knowledge and beliefs about cognitive health in the Indian context. In a randomized controlled trial, 220 YAs aged 18-25 years were equally and randomly assigned to either the experimental group (EG) or the active control group (CG). The EG viewed an EM on cognitive health, while the CG watched an animated fictional video. Both groups completed a retrospective pre-post survey evaluating self-perceived knowledge, factual knowledge, and beliefs about cognitive health. The effect of the EM was analyzed using mixed-model ANOVA. A significant improvement in the EG compared to the CG across all three domains was observed. These findings highlight the efficacy of the EM in enhancing understanding and attitudes toward cognitive health among YAs. The EM shows promise as a structured cognitive health education tool, fostering awareness, encouraging preventive measures, and potentially contributing to early detection and intervention of cognitive health issues. This study aligns with the emerging role of SLPs in educating communities about cognitive-communicative health and well-being.