Evaluation of the efficacy of a web-based work-related asthma educational tool

Abstract

Background: Work-related asthma (WRA) has been estimated to account for 15–20% of adult asthma cases. Studies have indicated that a substantial number of asthma patients have inadequate knowledge of work-related effects on their disease, which may contribute to suboptimal asthma control. A Canadian web-based educational tool on WRA was developed to address this knowledge gap in the population. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of this web-based tool. Methods: Participants were recruited prior to a routine visit at a tertiary care asthma clinic in Toronto. A brief WRA knowledge questionnaire was developed and administered immediately before and after using of the web-based educational tool, and one year later. Results: The study sample (N = 34) was mostly female (68%) with a mean age of 50.7 (SD, 17.2). Participants demonstrated significant improvement in questionnaire scores following interaction with the tool. The mean score increased from 76% (SEM = 2.1) to 84% (SEM = 1.7) (p = 0.001). On average, scores improved on 12 of the 13 questionnaire items. A 1-year follow-up of a sample of 19 participants demonstrated a slight reduction in mean scores, from 86% (SEM = 1.9) to 84% (SEM = 1.9), but still demonstrated a trend towards a higher score than the baseline (78%; SEM = 2.9; p = 0.08). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that the educational tool has a positive effect on WRA knowledge, and that knowledge may be retained long-term. Future studies are needed in non-tertiary care clinic populations which may possess less baseline knowledge of WRA.

Keywords:

• Prevention
• work-related asthma
• education
• knowledge
• website
• tertiary clinic

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the staff at Toronto Western Hospital for help in arranging the scheduling of patients, and the participating asthma patients who assisted in evaluating the web-based educational tool.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article. Joshua C. Lipszyc assisted in the development of the patient database, analyzed the data, and prepared the manuscript. Jack Scarborough collected the data and developed the patient database for the pre- and post- questionnaire scores. Simeon Gotzev collected the data and developed the patient database for 1-year follow-up. Susan M. Tarlo conceptualized the study, developed the evaluative questionnaire, provided ongoing guidance, and reviewed the manuscript. Samir Gupta and Gary M. Liss assisted in the development of the web-based educational tool and reviewed the manuscript.