Impact of a mobile-app assisted self-management educational intervention on the scores of asthma control test (ACT) questionnaire among young asthmatic patients

Abstract

BackgroundMobile phone apps have reached almost all sectors of everyday modern human life, including health promotion and patient education intervention. Regarding asthma self-management programs, apps are considered to be a potential learning medium for patients with asthma, especially young patients, due to their effectiveness in improving patients’ knowledge and, consequently, the level of asthma control. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the AsmaDroid® mobile app, as compared with conventional educational methods, as a self-management educational intervention tool for improving asthma control among young patients. MethodsTo determine the app's effectiveness, the study involved 140 participants from various backgrounds and applied a quasi-experimental method using a two-group pretest and posttest with a control group design. Specifically, the treatment groups received the AsmaDroid® app as a learning medium, while the control groups used conventional methods (e.g., books, posters, videos, and social media). Before and after a 4-week intervention period, all the participants of both groups were asked to complete the Asthma Control Test (ACT) questionnaire. ResultsThe results of this study revealed a significant difference of +1.4 (p < 0.0001) in the pretest and posttest scores of the ACT questionnaire from the intervention group, while no difference was found in the control group. ConclusionsTherefore, this study concluded that mobile app-assisted self-management educational intervention significantly improved the scores of the ACT questionnaire among young asthmatic patients.