scholarly journals Impact of a Smartphone-Based Health Education Intervention in Reducing the Incidence of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) During Hajj

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Dauda Goni ◽  
Nyi Nyi Naing ◽  
Habsah Hasan ◽  
Nadiah Wan-Arfah ◽  
Zakuan Zainy Deris ◽  
...  

Abstract Background This study was aimed at demonstrating the impact of a health education intervention on reducing the incidence of influenza-like illnesses symptoms among Malaysian's Hajj pilgrims. MethodsThis study utilizes a quasi-experimental study in the evaluation of the impact of the intervention. Participants were recruited during Hajj orientation courses organized by private Hajj companies. Participants from two separate companies were recruited into an intervention group and control group respectively. The intervention group received a Health Belief Model (HBM) based smartphone health education intervention application while the control group received a normal Hajj guide intervention smartphone application before departure to Hajj. Data on the incidence of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) were collected from participants from two Hajj companies before and after returning from Hajj. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS with descriptive analysis, and analytical tests were conducted at 5% significance level. ResultsA total of 102 pilgrims completed the study in both intervention and control groups. The incidence of the symptoms of influenza-like illnesses (ILI) was statistically significant between the intervention and control groups (p = 0.049). The change in the level of knowledge and attitude among the intervention was statistically significant (p= 0.001, p = 0.029). ConclusionIn conclusion, the health education intervention has an impact on reducing the incidence of symptoms among Hajj pilgrims.

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manli Wang ◽  
Xuemei Han ◽  
Haiqing Fang ◽  
Chang Xu ◽  
Xiaojun Lin ◽  
...  

Objectives. Infectious disease knowledge and behaviors are key elements that ensure student health and safety. This study explores the impact of health education on student knowledge and behaviors toward infectious diseases and determines the factors affecting infectious diseases knowledge and behaviors among students in Gansu, China. Methods. A cross-sectional study and three sampling methods were used in two counties, 12 schools, and 32 classes in Gansu, China, from 2012 to 2013. Collected data included the following: (1) sociodemographic characteristics of 2002 students (1001 participants in the intervention group and 1001 in the control group); (2) accuracy of student knowledge and behaviors toward infectious diseases based on comparison of intervention and control groups through X2 test; and (3) mean scores on knowledge and behavior of students with different characteristics toward infectious diseases, as analyzed through analysis of variance (ANOVA). Multiple linear regression was conducted to analyze factors affecting student knowledge and behaviors toward infectious diseases. Results. Statistically significant differences were observed among eight items of infectious disease transmission and treatment knowledge between intervention and control groups (P<0.001). Average accuracies of knowledge and behaviors toward infectious diseases reached 72.23% and 60.03%. Significant differences were observed in six items on student behavior in rural and urban areas (P<0.001). Health education, household register, and county affected scores of student knowledge and behaviors toward infectious diseases (P<0.05). Gender and education level also affected scores of student behaviors toward infectious diseases (P<0.001). Conclusions. Health education contributes to student knowledge and behaviors toward infectious diseases. Students in the control group need intensified health education on infectious diseases. Health education needs to pay particular attention to rural students, all male students, and students at senior high school level living on campus.


2020 ◽  
pp. e001577
Author(s):  
Fereshteh Falah ◽  
S A Sajadi ◽  
A H Pishgooie

BackgroundHypertension is known as one of the most important non-communicable pervasive diseases.ObjectiveThe purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of a mobile-based educational app on the blood pressure (BP) of patients with hypertension.MethodsThis clinical trial was conducted on 66 military personnel who were definitively diagnosed with hypertension by a physician, and then assigned randomly into two groups as intervention (receiving mobile-based educational app) and control (receiving standard medical management but no app). Before the intervention, BP levels of both groups were measured with a calibrated sphygmomanometer. After 6 weeks, the BPs of both groups were remeasured using the same sphygmomanometer. Thereafter, descriptive and inferential statistics, including paired t-test, Mann-Whitney, Chi-square and Wilcoxon tests, were used. The data obtained were analysed using SPSS-21 software at a significance level of p<0.05.ResultsComparison of the intervention and control groups showed no statistically significant difference between the groups in systolic BP (p=0.479) and diastolic BP (p=0.851) in the pre-intervention phase, but after the intervention, systolic and diastolic BP levels were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group (p=0.0001).ConclusionThe results suggested that the mobile-based educational app had a significant effect on reducing BP in patients with hypertension. Therefore, using this app is recommended for those military personnel with hypertension.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (7) ◽  
pp. 871-878
Author(s):  
Adam Kelly ◽  
Justin Stanek

Context: The influence of custom and over-the-counter foot orthoses on dynamic balance has been investigated in the past. However, there has not been an exploration of the use of a foot-toe orthosis for improving balance. The ability of clinicians to influence balance could have important implications for injury prevention and rehabilitation. Objective: To determine the impact of a foot-toe orthosis on dynamic balance in healthy, young adults. Design: Randomized control trial. Setting: Athletic training laboratory. Participants: In total, 64 healthy, recreationally active participants aged 18–29 years were randomly allocated to one of the following groups: the foot-toe orthosis and laboratory-issued shoe group, the laboratory-issued shoe only (SO) group, or the control group. Interventions: Subjects in the intervention group wore the foot-toe orthosis and laboratory-issued shoe with activities of daily living for 4 weeks. Subjects in the SO intervention group wore the laboratory-issued shoe with activities of daily living for 4 weeks. Participants in the control group did not receive any intervention. Main Outcome Measures: The instrumented version of the Star Excursion Balance Test, known as the Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test, was used to quantify the dynamic balance at baseline and follow-up. Reaches were normalized for leg length. Results: There were statistically significant differences in postintervention scores on the Lower Quarter Y-Balance Test for both the dominant (P = .03, effect size = 0.84; 95% confidence interval, 0.25 to 1.43) and nondominant (P = .002, effect size = 0.74; 95% confidence interval, 0.15 to 1.32) legs when comparing dynamic balance scores of the foot-toe orthosis and laboratory-issued shoe group with the SO and control groups. No significant differences were observed when comparing dynamic balance between the SO and control groups. Conclusions: A 4-week intervention with a foot-toe orthosis and laboratory-issued shoe resulted in improved dynamic balance in a healthy young adult population. These findings suggest a novel intervention for increasing balance.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Innocentia Ebu ◽  
Salome Amissah-Essel ◽  
Christiana Asiedu ◽  
Selorm Akaba ◽  
Kingsley Asare Pereko

Abstract Background The burden of cervical cancer continues to rise in developing economies. Women in the sub-Saharan African region have higher chances of developing cervical cancer due to a greater prevalence of related risk factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of health education intervention on cervical cancer and screening perceptions of women in the Komenda, Edina, Eguafo, and Abirem (K.E.E.A) District in the Central Region of Ghana. Methods A non-equivalent control-group design was used to select church women; 396 in the intervention group and 386 in the control group, aged 11 to 70 years in the K.E.E.A District in the Central Region of Ghana. Data was collected via a validated structured interview schedule and analysed using the paired - and independent-samples t-tests, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Mann-Whitney U test. Results A comparison of the mean differences between the pre-post-test scores for the intervention and control groups showed a statistically significant difference for knowledge of cervical cancer (t = 6.22, df = 780, p = 0.001), knowledge of cervical cancer screening (t = 5.96, df = 780, p = 0.001), perceived seriousness (t = 3.36, df = 780, p = 0.001), perceived benefits (t = 9.19, df = 780, p = 0.001), and perceived barriers (t = 3.19, df = 780, p = 0.001). However, perceived susceptibility for the intervention group reduced, evidenced by a decrease in the mean (mean = − 0.12) compared to the control group (mean = 0.93) and this was statistically significant (t = 2.72, df = 780, p = 0.007). Conclusions Health education interventions are critical in improving knowledge and perceptions, and increasing self-efficacy of women about cervical cancer and screening. Trial registration ISRCTN Registry: Current Controlled Trials, ISRCTN13468198. Registered 22 March 2019.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Dauda Goni ◽  
Nyi Nyi Naing ◽  
Habsah Hasan ◽  
Nadiah Wan-Arfah ◽  
Zakuan Zainy Deris ◽  
...  

This study was aimed to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a health education program for increasing knowledge, changing attitudes, and promoting prevention practices to reduce the incidence of RTIs among Malaysian Hajj pilgrims. A quasi-experimental study was done among 130 Hajj pilgrims attending Hajj orientation course organized by a private Hajj tour companies. Hajj pilgrims assigned to intervention group (n = 65) and control group (n = 65). Data were collected baseline and after return from Hajj using a validated questionnaire. Mixed design repeated measure ANOVA was used to analyse the effect of group, time, and group-time interaction on the dependent variables. There was a significant improvement in knowledge, attitude and practice scores in the intervention group compared to the control group. Based on the findings of the interaction of time and group, there was a significant statistical difference for post intervention for knowledge (p = 0.005), attitude (p = 0.041), and practice (p = 0.002). The newly-established health education intervention smartphone application was effective in improving KAP toward RTIs prevention among pilgrims.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 612-618
Author(s):  
Indah Prawesti ◽  
Fitri Haryanti ◽  
Lely Lusmilasari

Background: Fever is manifestation of acute disease on children and contributes to incidence of severe malnutrition and morbidity and the most common reason for parents to deliver children on hospital. Currently, parents still lack knowledge of determination and proper management of fever although intervention of health education has been widely practiced. One obstacle to widespread success of educational intervention is inadequacy of health literacy. Utilization of media with simple and completed information with picture can be developed in communities with low levels of health literacy.Objective: To understanding the effect of health education using video and brochure on maternal health literacy in the working area of Saptosari Public Health Center, Gunungkidul Yogyakarta, Indonesia.Methods: This was a quasi experimental study with pretest and posttest nonequivalent control group design conducted on 15 – 27 May 2017. The questionnaire used was HLS-Asia Q which had been modified. Health education intervention was done using five minute-duration video about fever management in children preceeded by discussion about the content of the video. Cluster sampling technique was applied with mothers who have under five children as the respondent involving 45 respondents for intervention group and 42 respondents in control group. Data analysis used independent sample t-test.Results: There was an increase in average maternal health literacy provided with video and brochure media compared to the maternal health literacy given with standard treatment. Intervention group mean difference value was 6.6444 ± 9.6086 and value of difference of control group mean equals to  -2.4762 ± 12.0674  (p value <0.001).Conclusion: Health education intervention using video has a higher impact in the development of maternal health literacy compared with the standard intervention using brochure. 


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shudan Jiang ◽  
Qiuyi He ◽  
Jiajia Yan ◽  
Liyan Zhao ◽  
Yifan Zheng ◽  
...  

Background: The management of warfarin-treated patients has been recognized as a challenge due to narrow therapeutic range and food and drug interactions in warfarin therapy. We aim to evaluate the effect of a pharmacist-led remote warfarin management model using a smartphone application (app) on anticoagulation therapy.Methods: Eligible patients who had received warfarin therapy after mechanical heart valve replacement were enrolled. The intervention group was offered a pharmacist-led remote warfarin management model using the app named Yixing. Yixing incorporates functions including automatic daily reminder, personal health record, educational program, and online counseling. The control group received traditional pharmacy services without Yixing. Co-primary outcomes were patients’ awareness score of warfarin therapy obtained from questionnaire, the medication adherence measured by the percentage of the correct-warfarin-taken days in the monitored period, the fraction of time in therapeutic range (FTTR), and the incidence of anticoagulation-related complications. The needed information of the patients was acquired via electronic medical records from the hospital, Yixing system and telephone follow-up when necessary.Results: 64 and 66 patients were initially in the intervention and control groups respectively. After propensity score matching, 50 patients were assigned in each group. The intervention group had a median age of 51.0 years, in which 27 (54%) were male. The control group had a median age of 50.5 years, in which 28 (56%) were male. Patient awareness score in the intervention group was 8.00 (2.00), which was higher than that in the control group, with score at 6.50 (2.50) (p = 0.001). No significant difference was found in the percentage of the correct-warfarin-taken days between the two groups (p = 0.520). The median (interquartile range) value of FTTR was 80.3% (21.9%) and 72.1% (17.7%) in the intervention and control groups respectively (p = 0.033), and no significant differences in the incidence of anticoagulation-related complications were observed (p = 0.514).Conclusion: The pharmacist-led remote warfarin management model using Yixing improves patients’ awareness of warfarin therapy and increases FTTR, but may not have significant improvements on medication adherence and safety.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayeesha Kamal ◽  
Adeel Khoja ◽  
Bushra Usmani ◽  
Shahvaiz Magsi ◽  
Aresha Malani ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Pakistan is the sixth most populous nation in the world and has an estimated 4 million stroke survivors. Most survivors are taken care of by community-based caregivers, and there are no inpatient rehabilitation facilities. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of locally designed 5-min movies rolled out in order of relevance that are thematically delivered in a 3-month program to deliver poststroke education to stroke survivor and caregiver dyads returning to the community. METHODS This study was a randomized controlled, outcome assessor–blinded, parallel group, single-center superiority trial in which participants (stroke survivor-caregiver dyads) with first-ever stroke (both ischemic and hemorrhagic) incidence were randomized within 48 hours of their stroke into either the video-based education intervention group or the control group. The video-based education intervention group had health education delivered through short videos that were shown to the participants and their caregivers at the time of admission, before discharge, and the first and third months of follow-up after discharge. The control group had standardized care including predischarge education and counseling according to defined protocols. All participants enrolled in the video education intervention and control groups were followed for 12 months after discharge for outcome assessment in the outpatient stroke clinics. The primary outcome measures were the proportion of participants achieving control of blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood cholesterol in the video intervention versus the control group. Several predefined secondary outcomes were included in this study, of which we report the mortality and functional disability in this paper. Analysis was by performed using the intention-to-treat principle. RESULTS A total of 310 stroke survivors and their caregiver dyads (participant dyads) were recruited over a duration of 6 months. In total, 155 participant dyads were randomized into the intervention and control groups, each. The primary outcome of control of three major risk factors revealed that at 12 months, there was a greater percentage of participants with a systolic B<i>P</i>&lt;125 mm Hg (18/54, 33% vs 11/52, 21%; <i>P</i>=.16), diastolic B<i>P</i>&lt;85 mm Hg (44/54, 81% vs 37/52, 71%; <i>P</i>=.21), HbA<sub>1c</sub> level&lt;7% (36/55, 65% vs 30/40, 75%; <i>P</i>=.32), and low-density lipoprotein level&lt;100 mg/dL (36/51, 70% vs 30/45, 67%; <i>P</i>=.68) in the intervention group than in the control group. The secondary outcome reported is the mortality among the stroke survivors because the number of stroke-related complications was higher in the control group than in the intervention group (13/155, 8.4% vs 2/155, 1.3%), and this difference was statistically significant (<i>P</i>&lt;.001). CONCLUSIONS The Movies4Stroke trial failed to achieve its primary specified outcome. However, secondary outcomes that directly related to survival skills of stroke survivors demonstrated the effectiveness of the video-based intervention on improving stroke-related mortality and survival without disability. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02202330; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02202330


Author(s):  
Mohammed DG ◽  
Habsah H ◽  
Naing NN ◽  
Rafie MA ◽  
Nadiah WA ◽  
...  

Objectives: We aimed to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a health education program for increasing knowledge, changing attitudes and promoting preventive practices to reduce the incidence of RTIs among Malaysian Hajj pilgrims.Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted among 132 Hajj pilgrims attending Hajj orientation programme organized by a private Hajj companies. Hajj pilgrims were sequentia lly enrolled and assigned to receive smartphone health education application in the intervent ion group (n = 66) and another different smartphone application on general Hajj process in the control group (n = 66). Data were collected from August 2018 to April 2019 at baseline prior to departure and post-intervention, immediately after return from Saudi Arabia using a validated questionnaire.Results: There was no significant difference with respect to socio-demographic characterist ics, KAP of the respondents in the intervention and control group at baseline. However, there was significant improvement in knowledge in the intervention group compared to the control group, based on time (p = 0.005, ἠ2 = 0.075) and group and time interaction (p = 0.031, ἠ2 = 0.046). Likewise, there was significant improvement in attitude based on time (p = 0.035, ἠ2 = 0.044). Similarly, there was significant main effect in practice based on time (p = <0.001, ἠ2 = 0.155) and interaction of group with time (p = 0.042, ἠ2 = 0.041).International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2019 Page: 30


10.2196/12113 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. e12113
Author(s):  
Ayeesha Kamal ◽  
Adeel Khoja ◽  
Bushra Usmani ◽  
Shahvaiz Magsi ◽  
Aresha Malani ◽  
...  

Background Pakistan is the sixth most populous nation in the world and has an estimated 4 million stroke survivors. Most survivors are taken care of by community-based caregivers, and there are no inpatient rehabilitation facilities. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of locally designed 5-min movies rolled out in order of relevance that are thematically delivered in a 3-month program to deliver poststroke education to stroke survivor and caregiver dyads returning to the community. Methods This study was a randomized controlled, outcome assessor–blinded, parallel group, single-center superiority trial in which participants (stroke survivor-caregiver dyads) with first-ever stroke (both ischemic and hemorrhagic) incidence were randomized within 48 hours of their stroke into either the video-based education intervention group or the control group. The video-based education intervention group had health education delivered through short videos that were shown to the participants and their caregivers at the time of admission, before discharge, and the first and third months of follow-up after discharge. The control group had standardized care including predischarge education and counseling according to defined protocols. All participants enrolled in the video education intervention and control groups were followed for 12 months after discharge for outcome assessment in the outpatient stroke clinics. The primary outcome measures were the proportion of participants achieving control of blood pressure, blood sugar, and blood cholesterol in the video intervention versus the control group. Several predefined secondary outcomes were included in this study, of which we report the mortality and functional disability in this paper. Analysis was by performed using the intention-to-treat principle. Results A total of 310 stroke survivors and their caregiver dyads (participant dyads) were recruited over a duration of 6 months. In total, 155 participant dyads were randomized into the intervention and control groups, each. The primary outcome of control of three major risk factors revealed that at 12 months, there was a greater percentage of participants with a systolic BP<125 mm Hg (18/54, 33% vs 11/52, 21%; P=.16), diastolic BP<85 mm Hg (44/54, 81% vs 37/52, 71%; P=.21), HbA1c level<7% (36/55, 65% vs 30/40, 75%; P=.32), and low-density lipoprotein level<100 mg/dL (36/51, 70% vs 30/45, 67%; P=.68) in the intervention group than in the control group. The secondary outcome reported is the mortality among the stroke survivors because the number of stroke-related complications was higher in the control group than in the intervention group (13/155, 8.4% vs 2/155, 1.3%), and this difference was statistically significant (P<.001). Conclusions The Movies4Stroke trial failed to achieve its primary specified outcome. However, secondary outcomes that directly related to survival skills of stroke survivors demonstrated the effectiveness of the video-based intervention on improving stroke-related mortality and survival without disability. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02202330; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02202330


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document