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The use of an interactive computer program for the education of parents of asthmatic children
A J Fall1, R L Henry, T Hazell
1John Hunter Children's Hospital, New Lambton Heights, New South Wales, Australia.
Objective:
To assess whether an interactive computer program improves the asthma knowledge of parents of asthmatic children attending a respiratory clinic, and to assess the acceptability of this educational method to parents.
Methodology:
Parents' knowledge was assessed before and one month after using the computer program. Knowledge scores were compared using paired Student's t-tests. Parents' comments about the program were invited.
Results:
Whilst knowledge scores improved after exposure to the computer program, the improvement was not statistically significant (P=0.06). However, parents felt subjectively that the program was both enjoyable and useful to them.
Conclusion:
Used as the sole instrument for asthma education, the program did not produce a large increase in asthma knowledge in the study population. It was, however, universally popular and may prove useful in other settings and in combination with other forms of asthma education.