The specific aims of the interactive multimedia asthma education study are to: (1) increase knowledge of asthma among asthmatic children and their caregivers; (2) equip asthmatic children and their caregivers with improved asthma management skills; (3) decrease morbidity and mortality among asthmatic children so that they and their caregivers may enjoy better quality of life; (4) ease the financial burden of asthma on the family and society; and (5) facilitate better data collection about trends in children's asthma related morbidity. Interactive computer education has been found to increase disease specific knowledge and to effect change in behavior among many patients studied in a systematic review. (Krishna, 1997) A computer-based interactive multimedia asthma education has been developed at the University of Missouri-Columbia. A randomized controlled trial is proposed to determine if an interactive multimedia educational intervention is more effective in bringing about change in behavior among asthmatic children and their caregivers such that they can enjoy disease-free days and better quality of life. All children and their caregivers presenting for treatment at the Pediatric Pulmonary and Allergy Clinics at the University of Missouri-Hospital and Clinics in Columbia and meeting the predetermined criteria will be randomly assigned to either computerized multimedia education group or the printed asthma education manual group. Assessment of knowledge, symptoms, quality of life and health care utilization data will be performed at the initial and subsequent visits. Appropriate statistical analysis will be done to determine any changes.
| Krishna, Santosh; Francisco, Benjamin D; Balas, E Andrew et al. (2003) Internet-enabled interactive multimedia asthma education program: a randomized trial. Pediatrics 111:503-10 |
| Krishna, S; Balas, E A; Boren, S A et al. (2002) Patient acceptance of educational voice messages: a review of controlled clinical studies. Methods Inf Med 41:360-9 |
