A Comparison Between Two Educational Methods in the Rehabilitation of the Microstomia in Systemic Sclerosis

"After recruitment for both groups of participants, in a 30-minute meeting, a clinical nurse measured the opening of the mouth. She gave each participant the information brochure, the audio-visual DVD for self-management of oral exercises, diary card, and the research questionnaires, and explained their content and use.~The intervention consisted of stretching exercises and movements involving the mimic muscles to perform in front of a mirror. The control group could learn the standardized exercises for the mouth-opening through information brochure and the audio-visual DVD.~The experimental group was closely followed by the research nurse, an expert in Adult Education, who held 20-minute face to face meetings at baseline and at follow-up with the patients allocated to the experimental group. For both groups an information brochure and an audio-visual DVD were developed specifically for the study. The audio-visual DVD is available on the IDI-IRCCS institutional website."

"After recruitment for both groups of participants, in a 30-minute meeting, a clinical nurse measured the opening of the mouth. She gave each participant the information brochure, the audio-visual DVD for self-management of oral exercises, diary card, and the research questionnaires, and explained their content and use.~The intervention consisted of stretching exercises and movements involving the mimic muscles to perform in front of a mirror. The control group could learn the standardized exercises for the mouth-opening through information brochure and the audio-visual DVD."