National Taiwan University Hospital

Within 6 months after the occurrence of stroke, more than 25% of patients will experience severe disability. Patients and caregivers need to learn stroke self-care knowledge. Nursing personnel play the role of educator and provide self-care health education content. Traditional nursing instructions are mainly provided using leaflets and verbal health education. However, the advancement of information technology and the popularization of mobile network 3C products make it possible to provide real-time, individualized and large-capacity information, which is the most real-time and efficient way of clinical care at present. Therefore, this study investigated whether mobile device health education program provided for patients with stroke can improve their self-care knowledge and self-efficacy and reduce depression.

This study enrolled patients at the wards of Division of Neurology in a certain medical center in the northern Taiwan. This study adopted two-group, pre-and-post-test, randomized, single-blind experimental research design, and calculated the samples size using G-Power. At least 35 subjects should be enrolled in the experimental group (APP education program intervention) and control group (conventional nursing), respectively. This study performed the pre-test on Day 1 of hospitalization, implemented the interventional program on Day 2, and performed the post-test before discharge. The research questionnaires included Stroke Self-care Knowledge Scale, Stroke Self-efficacy Scale, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), VAS Health Education Satisfaction Scale. This study performed statistical analysis using the package statistical software version SPSS 20.0, and tested the distribution and homogeneity of two groups of data using the independent sample T-test. Moreover, this study also performed descriptive statistical analysis and inferential statistical analysis. For the descriptive statistical analysis, this study presented the demographic data and disease characteristics of the research subjects using frequency distribution, percentage, average mean, standard deviation, maximum and minimum. Furthermore, this study used independent sample T-test, chi-square, One-way ANOVA, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient, and ANCOVA to compare the differences in demographic data, disease characteristics, stroke self-care knowledge, stroke self-efficacy, depression, and health education satisfaction between the two groups.