Asthma educational videoconferencing for parents: A case-control study

We used a case-control, pre-post study to determine the effectiveness of educational videoconferencing in the delivery of an asthma education programme. The participants were immigrant parents attending scheduled classes on English as a second language. The cases participated in the educational videoconferences, while the controls attended a class on American civics. Knowledge in both groups was assessed with 10 true/false statements. Ninety subjects participated (47 cases and 43 controls). Controls showed no significant post-test improvement in knowledge scores (6.6 for pre-test, 6.4 for post-test). In contrast, cases demonstrated significant knowledge gain after the videoconference (7.3 vs 8.3). Educational videoconferencing was an effective tool for the delivery of health education in asthma.