Impact of Mobile-Based Health Education on the Awareness and Knowledge of Glaucoma in Chinese Patients

Abstract

Introduction:Mobile devices have been rapidly integrated into clinical practice. The present study is to compare the awareness and knowledge of glaucoma in patients with and without access to mobile-based public health education. Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional survey was performed on individuals without health education from the outpatient department, and individuals with mobile-based glaucoma education from WeChat® service account (WeChat, a social media service). The participants were subcategorized based on whether glaucoma was present. Data were collected using a questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic information and glaucoma knowledge divided into 15 true-or-false questions. Each question was assigned two points if correct and zero if incorrect or unclear. Statistical analyses were used to analyze the differences and correlation of scores and influencing factors between each group. Results:A total of 1,459 valid questionnaires was obtained, including 585 individuals from outpatient department and 874 from WeChat. Patients with health education had higher rate of correctness for each of the 15 questions than those without. In the absence of the education group, glaucoma patients had a median score of 16 out of total 30 points, 8 points higher than among nonglaucoma patients (p < 0.001), whereas those with education attained a median score of 24 points, greater than those without (p < 0.001), regardless of whether they had glaucoma. These significances were still evident after adjustment for various potential confounding factors. Conclusions:Patients' awareness and knowledge level of glaucoma are limited, but significantly enhanced after educational intervention. Mobile-based education is essential to ameliorate public awareness of glaucoma.