Despite medical advancements, increased funding, and numerous intervention programs, asthma remains the leading cause of missed school days and the third leading cause of hospitalizations in children. This may be partly due to current models of asthma care and delivery methods of asthma information to children. As presented in biobehavioral models, effective childhood asthma management requires ongoing influences from a host of resources including families, school, peers, and health care providers with the goal of promoting the child's self-care. Okay with Asthma, v.2.0, built on a biobehavioral model, is an innovative program for children between 8 and 11 years of age that teaches asthma management psychosocial strategies that promote self-care behaviors. Okay with Asthma v.2.0 will allow children to construct and interact with stories or narratives (interactive narratives) on a computer by selecting scenes, characters and words for the story from a database specifically built to support it. Due to the limited interactivity of the first version of Okay with Asthma, children were not inclined to watch and craft different stories so asthma information they received from the stories was not reinforced. Based on pilot test results of the first version of OKWA and the engaging multimedia design model, a more interactive program will encourage children to revisit the program reinforcing asthma content leading to more self-care behaviors.
The specific aim of this feasibility study is to develop OKWAv.2.0 and test its usability and engagement through focus groups with children. Specific objectives are to use: (1) eXtreme programming (XP), an approach for software development that will augment testing, and (2) Nielsen's model for usability testing (NUM)8,9 and Said's engaging multimedia design model (EMDM)10 to guide the feasibility testing of OKWAv.2.0. Six focus groups (n=5 in each group) comprised of children between 8 and 11 years of age with asthma, will evaluate the program in stages while it is being modified. The results from each focus group will guide the next stage of development and modifications. Future studies will examine how OKWAv.2.0 influences self-care behaviors in children, which is the overall goal of the program.
Today's widely accepted biobehavioral models promote self-care in children when these children have guidance from families and support from school, peers, and the community. Okay with Asthma, v.2.0, built on a biobehavioral model, is an innovative program for children between 8 and 11 years of age that teaches about asthma management including psychosocial strategies. This feasibility test examines the usability (design, interactivity, functionality, and interface) and engagement of the program through focus groups with 8 to 11 year old children who have asthma. The feasibility testing is guided by Nielsen's usability model and Said's engaging multimedia design model.
| Wyatt, Tami H; Li, Xueping; Huang, Yu et al. (2013) Developing an interactive story for children with asthma. Nurs Clin North Am 48:271-85 |
