RESUMEN
Bronchial asthma among children is a common chronic disease that may impact quality of life. Health education is one of the strategies to improve knowledge and quality of life. This study aims to assess the effect of health education via a mobile application in promoting the quality of life among schoolchildren with asthma in urban Malaysia during the COVID-19 era. A quasi-experimental, pre- and post-intervention design was used in this study involving a total of 214 students, randomly assigned into two groups (an intervention group and a control group). The control group received face-to-face health education, whereas the experimental group received health education via a mobile application. The findings showed that the total score of quality of life improved from a mean total score at pre-intervention of 5.31 ± 1.27 to post-intervention of 5.66 ± 1.28 for the control group, compared with the experimental group with a mean total score of quality of life at pre-intervention of 5.01 ± 1.36 and post-intervention of 5.85 ± 1.29. A comparison between the experimental and control groups using an independent t test showed statistically significant differences in their mean quality of life scores. The effect of health education via a mobile application showed a statistically significant improvement in the mean quality of life score from pre- to post-intervention ( F1,288 = 57.46, P < .01). As recommended, the use of mobile technology in health education improved the quality of life of schoolchildren with asthma as compared with the traditional methods of a face-to-face lecture and/or a handbook. Thus, educational modules using mobile applications do improve quality of life.
Asunto(s)
Asma , Educación en Salud , Aplicaciones Móviles , Calidad de Vida , Asma/terapia , COVID-19/epidemiología , Niño , Educación en Salud/métodos , Humanos , Malasia/epidemiología , Estudiantes , Población UrbanaRESUMEN
PURPOSE: This study set out to evaluate the impact of health education provided on mobile applications (app) to urban-living school children with asthma in Malaysia to improve their asthma-related knowledge. DESIGN AND METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental study with pre-and post-intervention involving 214 respondents from six schools were selected randomly and assigned to the experimental and control groups. The intervention, i.e. the health education via mobile apps was given to the experimental group while the control group received the routine face-to-face education. RESULTS: The mean knowledge score increased post-intervention in the experimental group from 15.5 ± 8.77 to 24.6 ± 6.69. Children with a moderate level of knowledge accounted for the biggest proportion in both group control and experimental groups in the pre-intervention stage. In contrast, the proportion of children with a high level of knowledge was the highest in the experimental group post-intervention. Therefore, health education delivered via mobile apps led to a statistically significant improvement in the asthma knowledge of the children (F [1, 288] = 22.940, p ≤0.01). CONCLUSION: Compared to the conventional face-to-face education methods of lectures or handbooks, mobile technology is more effective in delivering health education and improving the knowledge of school children with asthma. Therefore, educational modules aimed at improving knowledge should be modified to incorporate mobile apps. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Health education via mobile applications is considered a great innovation in school children with asthma education, or as a supplement to conventional learning methods. It is necessary to place health education via mobile applications as a prominent learning strategy for school children with asthma.