User-testing of a combined dual-mode educational approach for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Individualized patient education, continuous monitoring and regular follow ups are very essential for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) management. Educational interventions can improve patient knowledge and self-management skills. Current study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a combined dual-mode educational approach developed for patients with COPD, in improving knowledge and assessing the acceptability of the educational materials.

A single-group pre-test post-test quasi-experimental study was conducted for six months duration in a tertiary care hospital. Initially, reliability assessment of the questionnaires was performed using a test-retest method. Afterwards, patient knowledge was assessed using pre- and post- intervention method to evaluate the effectiveness of the materials in improving patient knowledge. Finally, user-opinion analysis was carried out to attain feedback from the patients.

A total of 36 patients were enrolled for the study. The reliability of the questionnaires was established using Intraclass Correlation coefficient (ICC) and it scored between 0.88 and 0.98 fulfilling the reliability criteria. During the knowledge assessment following the educational interventions showed an improvement in the patient knowledge and attained a statistical significance throughout all the language versions (p < 0.05). The user-opinion analysis attained high acceptance from the participants and majority of them (88%) gave "Good" feedback for the design, layout and clarity of the educational materials.

The user- testing analysis proved that the combined dual-mode educational approach was well accepted by the patients and it significantly improved their knowledge on COPD.