Multicomponent Supportive-Educative mHealth Intervention for Self-Care Among Individuals With Osteoporosis in Thailand: Exploratory Pretest-Posttest Pilot Study.

This was a small exploratory pilot with nonrandom assignment, so it cannot show that the intervention caused the higher self-care scores. Only 46 adults were studied, with 23 in each group, so the estimates may be unstable. Baseline diet and physical activity scores differed between groups (P=.04), although analyses adjusted for baseline scores. The intervention was multicomponent, including Facebook sessions, weekly small group sessions, daily live sessions, four videos, a handbook, family attendance, nurse interactions, and reminders, so no single component can be isolated. Participants and researchers knew group assignment, and both groups came from the same outpatient clinic, so expectations or contamination may have influenced self-report. Self-care was measured by self-report, and the Thai medication adherence subscale had low baseline internal consistency (Cronbach α=0.56). The control group also improved over time, and repeated self-care assessments may have increased awareness, so the between-group difference needs cautious interpretation. Follow-up was only 1 week after the 4-week intervention, so long-term benefit is unknown. Recruitment was from one university hospital in Bangkok, so results may not apply to other settings.

This study was supported by the Faculty of Nursing, Chulalongkorn University. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.

Do not read the adjusted difference of 0.97 on a 1 to 5 scale as proof that Facebook alone works. The intervention also included weekly small group sessions, daily live Facebook sessions, four educational videos, a printed handbook, family attendance, nurse-participant interactions, and reminders for missed sessions. The study cannot separate those components, and the control group also received usual nurse education and repeated self-care assessments.