The effectiveness of telegram-based virtual education versus in-person education on the quality of life in adolescents with moderate-to-severe asthma: A pilot randomized controlled trial.
Shiva Faraji, Sousan Valizadeh, Akbar Sharifi and 2 others
PMID 33072352WHAT IT FOUND
Telegram-based asthma education did not improve adolescents' quality of life more than in-person education.
In both groups, quality-of-life scores rose after five weeks, but the two groups ended up similar.
Key findings
01Telegram-based education did not produce a different quality-of-life score from in-person education after the intervention.
02Quality-of-life scores increased in both groups after five weeks.
03After pre-test scores were taken into account, the three quality-of-life sub-scales also showed no difference between groups.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was a pilot with a small sample, and the authors said the sample size was limited by the master's thesis. Only 60 participants were analysed after 6% attrition, so the results may not be reliable enough to guide broad practice. Participants were adolescents from an Iranian clinic who already had a device, internet access and Telegram familiarity, so the findings may not apply where these are absent. Patients knew which education method they received, and follow-up was only 5 weeks after intervention.
Declared interests
The paper lists research support from a non-U.S. government source.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude Telegram education improves quality of life more than in-person education. Both groups improved, but the between-group comparison showed no difference, and this was a small pilot with 60 analysed.