Effectiveness of a digital application to improve stroke knowledge for kids

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Pediatric Health
• Digital Health Education

Background:

• Stroke is a major global health concern, particularly prevalent in Latin America.
• Early childhood education on stroke symptoms is crucial for timely intervention and reduced healthcare burden.
• Raising public awareness through accessible educational tools is vital for community health.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a mobile application in enhancing pediatric knowledge of stroke.
• To assess the impact of a digital intervention on children's ability to recognize stroke signs and emergency procedures.
• To determine if a mobile application can improve stroke symptom recognition and emergency service contact recall among primary school students.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach involving a focus group and pre- and post-intervention questionnaires with 105 primary school students (ages 7-12).
• Validated neurological questions were used to assess knowledge before and after a 40-minute session with a stroke education mobile application.
• Statistical analysis, including the Student t-test, was employed to determine the significance of knowledge improvement.

Main Results:

• Following a single app session, 50-67% of children could identify stroke signs, and 96.2% knew the national emergency number.
• Statistically significant improvements in stroke knowledge were observed post-intervention (t=19.54; p<0.001).
• Intragroup analysis confirmed significant learning gains within the post-intervention test results (t=40.71; p<0.001).

Conclusions:

• Digital applications are effective tools for educating primary school children about stroke.
• The mobile application significantly enhanced children's knowledge and understanding of stroke symptoms and emergency response.
• This intervention demonstrates the potential of mobile technology to improve pediatric stroke awareness and preparedness.