Effect of the board game as educational technology on schoolchildren’s knowledge on breastfeeding

ABSTRACT Objective: to evaluate the effect of the board game as an educational technology on schoolchildren’s knowledge on breastfeeding. Method: cluster-randomized clinical trial, held in nine schools, with 99 children in the third grade of elementary school (control group = 51 and intervention group = 48). The pretest was conducted in both groups; intervention consisted in the application of the educational technology immediately after pretest to the intervention group; and the post-test was applied on the 7th and 30th days to both groups. For the analysis of children’s knowledge on breastfeeding, we considered the pre- and post-test score means, using the Mann-Whitney test - for comparing the means between groups - and the Wilcoxon test - within the same group. Results: there was no statistically significant difference between the groups in the pretest. In the follow-up, when comparing the groups, there were higher means in the intervention group, on the 7th (19.68 ±1.788) and on the 30th (20.16±1.260) days, with statistically significant difference. Within the intervention group, there was significant increase of the means in the pretest (15.89±3.082) for the 30th day (20.16±1.260). Conclusion: such educational intervention has significantly contributed to the increase in scores of children’s knowledge on breastfeeding for the intervention group. UTN: U1111-1184-7386. RESUMO Objetivo: avaliar o efeito de uma tecnologia educacional do tipo jogo de tabuleiro no conhecimento de escolares sobre aleitamento materno. Método: ensaio clínico randomizado por conglomerado, realizado em nove escolas, com 99 crianças do 3º ano do ensino fundamental (grupo controle = 51 e intervenção = 48). O pré-teste foi realizado em ambos os grupos; a intervenção consistiu na aplicação de tecnologia educacional imediatamente após o pré-teste no grupo intervenção; e o pós-teste foi aplicado no sétimo e no trigésimo dia em ambos os grupos. Para análise do conhecimento das crianças sobre amamentação consideraram-se as médias dos escores do pré e pós-teste, utilizando-se o teste de Mann-Whitney para comparação das médias entre os grupos, e o de Wilcoxon dentro do mesmo grupo. Resultados: no pré-teste, não houve diferença significante entre os grupos. No seguimento, na comparação entre os grupos, verificaram-se médias mais elevadas no grupo intervenção, no sétimo (19,68±1,788) e no trigésimo dia (20,16±1,260), com diferença estatisticamente significativa. Dentro do grupo intervenção,