Electronic tutor about obstructive sleep apnea syndrome: development and evaluation of a health collaborative network

Abstract

Introduction There are studies worldwide about the prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), including Brazil, where apnea was observed in 32.8% of general population. Although there is a high prevalence of OSAS, there is not always a diagnosis using the same scale because of the lack of information. The World Sleep Day, held on date, helped draw attention to the effects of sleep health; consequently, more people have become aware of the enormous importance of sleep for our health. The Cybertutor has valuable tools to promote sleep health through Interactive Teleducation. Such knowledge makes possible better dynamics, interactive access, and motivation. The aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate content about OSAS and sleep health for a Cybertutor. Materials and methods We used textual resources, based on scientific publications, selecting, summarizing, and adapting the material language. In addition, we used audiovisual resources to make the educational material motivating and attractive. For evaluation of language, we used the Flesch Reading Facility Index (FRFI) that results in a percentage of a given document’s level of legibility; the higher the level of reading facility in the text, the better. Results This study has resulted in the creation of three modules on sleep health: “Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome” with nine topics, “Treatment” with nine topics, and “Prevention” with six topics. Related to the contents, the modules contained 19 static images, along with figures and diagrams, 14 videos, and links to two other websites. It was observed that the content of the modules obtained an average of 56% on the FRFI, corresponding to a “reasonably hard” level that requires users to have a minimum level of instruction in high school to ensure language comprehension. Conclusion Therefore, it is important to carefully consider content development for the Cybertutor or other digital media and do evaluations of the language used to ensure adequate communication of the information and thus construct a health collaborative network. The results of this study were the creation of three modules about OSAS and sleep health, specific for use by a Cybertutor, which received an FRFI rating that indicated a language level corresponding to a minimum of high school instruction. Acknowledgements To the Professor Dr. Chao Lung Wen and the team of the Discipline of Telemedicine of the Medicine School, University of Sao Paulo, by availability the cybertutor on page of the Young Doctor Project and technical assistance for the feasibility of this project.