Bridging knowledge gaps in paediatric chronic urticaria through a video-based educational tool

Area of Science:

• Allergy and Immunology
• Pediatric Health
• Medical Education

Background:

• Limited patient educational resources exist for chronic urticaria (CU).
• Effective patient education is crucial for managing chronic conditions like CU.
• Addressing knowledge gaps in pediatric CU patients and families is a priority.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an educational video for pediatric patients with chronic urticaria.
• To assess the video's effectiveness in improving patient and family understanding of CU and its management.
• To provide a scalable educational tool for allergy outpatient clinics.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 53 pediatric patients with CU from July 2020 to May 2022.
• Administered a five-question knowledge assessment pre- and post-viewing of a 5-minute animated educational video.
• Assessed knowledge retention at a 1-year follow-up.

Main Results:

• Mean pre-video score was 0.67, significantly increasing to 0.94 post-video (P < 0.001).
• A mean score improvement of 0.27 was observed, indicating significant knowledge gain.
• At 1-year follow-up, the mean score remained high at 0.83, showing sustained knowledge retention.

Conclusions:

• The animated educational video effectively improved understanding of chronic urticaria among pediatric patients and families.
• Nontraditional educational tools like videos are valuable for patient education in allergy care.
• Further research should explore and compare various educational methods for optimizing patient knowledge.