Comparison of Three Teaching Methods on 4- Through 7-Year-Old Children's Understanding of the Lungs in Relation to a Peak Flow Meter in the Management of Asthma: A Pilot Study

Abstract

This pilot study of 19 children compared three methods of teaching 4- through 7-year-old children about their lungs in relation to a peak flow meter. One group saw a doll with three-dimensional lungs, another group saw a puppet with inflatable lungs, and a comparison group received usual Asthma Clinic education. Knowledge of the lungs was measured pre- and post-teaching through two body knowledge assessment instruments. Four children in the Puppet Group improved their posttest scores, compared to three in the Doll Group and two in the Usual Care Group. Continued psychometric studies of the instruments and similar studies with larger sample sizes need to be conducted.

• Asthma
• Asthma education
• Body knowledge
• Novice-to-expert shift
• Peak flow meter
• Preschool children
• Puppet
• Role modeling
• Schoolage children
• Social Learning Theory