An Evaluation of the Effectiveness of an Educational Intervention on the Severity of Pediatric Asthma

• Other Authors: Skoglund, Nataliya Venger (authoraut)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Nursing
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-1686

Asthma is the most common chronic disease of childhood. It is becoming more prevalent every year. Despite the remarkable morbidity of this condition, childhood asthmatics and their parents frequently know little about this condition, thus it is often under-treated. Under-treatment of asthma can lead to life long reduction in health and quality of life. With appropriate educational intervention, childhood asthma can be better managed. It is well known that children are motivated to play video games. With Kanfer's Self-Regulation theory as a conceptual basis, we can take advantage of this powerful childhood interest to improve their asthma control. This study analyzed the effectiveness of using a computer-based asthma training video game, Quest For The Code, as an educational tool in improving specific measures of asthma severity in 36 chronic asthmatic children living in a rural area of Northwest Florida. This study demonstrated significant improvements in peak flow and scores on the Asthma Control Test (A.C.T.) after the educational intervention. None of the selected demographic variables, marital status of parents, number of siblings in the family, age of subject, school grade, and number of hours Quest For The Code was played were associated with the outcome measures. === A Thesis Submitted to the College of Nursing in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Nursing. === Spring Semester, 2007. === March 15, 2007. === Pediatric asthma, Educational intervention, Nursing === Includes bibliographical references. === Mary Beth Zeni, Professor Directing Thesis; Linda Sullivan, Committee Member; Deborah Frank, Committee Member.