Mobile Learning Package for Mothers about Bronchial Asthma of their Children

Abstract

Bronchial asthma is a major cause of child disability. Asthma is constituting a serious public health problem all over the world. Mothers play pivotal role in the children’s adjustment to the illness. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the effect of mobile learning package for mothers about bronchial asthma of their children. Design: A quasi- experimental design was used. Setting: The study was conducted at the Pediatric Outpatient Clinic in Helwan General Hospital, Helwan District, Cairo, Egypt. Sampling: A purposive sample was used. Sample size: 150 mothers with their children diagnosed with bronchial asthma. Tool of data collection: One tool was used, a structured designed interviewing questionnaire covering three parts: Part 1: (A) Demographic characteristics of mothers,(B) Demographic characteristics of children and past history (C) Child health status. Part 2: Mothers’ knowledge of about bronchial asthma. Part 3: Mothers' reported practices about bronchial asthma. Results: The current study showed that the study sample had poor knowledge (68.7%) and inadequate reported practices (85.3%) about bronchial asthma for their child before conducting the mobile learning package. Highly statistically significant improvements were detected after the implementation of the mobile learning package in good knowledge (82.0%)and adequate reported practices (90.7%). There was a statistically significant association between mothers' total knowledge scores and total reported practice scores at p <0.001. Conclusion: Mobile learning package improved mothers' knowledge and practices at the posttest than pretest, with highly statistically significant differences. Recommendation: Simple educational pamphlets and posters about asthma should be provided for all mothers in outpatient clinics.