Web-based chlamydia education for university students: A pilot project.

AIMS: Chlamydia disproportionately affects individuals aged 15-24 years. A lack of chlamydia knowledge in this high-risk group likely contributes to decreased testing, but interventions to increase chlamydia knowledge in this population are not well-described in the literature. The purpose of this pilot project was to increase chlamydia knowledge in a sample of university students using nurse-developed web-based education.

DESIGN

A pre- and post-test design was used to evaluate participant knowledge of chlamydia before and after completing a nurse-developed web-based education intervention designed for university students.

METHODS

Forty-seven undergraduate students at one U.S. university participated. A focus group and scientific evidence informed the development of the web-based education.

RESULTS

Participants had a significant increase in chlamydia knowledge after completing the online educational intervention (M = 8.0, SD = 0.000) compared to baseline (M = 6.5, SD = 1.5), t(33) = -5.821, p < .0001. Pilot results provide promising evidence that web-based nurse-developed education designed specifically for university students can increase chlamydia knowledge.