title: Comparative analysis of conventional and an adaptive computer-based hypoglycaemia education programs.
abstract: Adaptive interactive computer-based education programs which can be personalized to patients' needs and skills might be more suitable for patients' training as compared to conventional ones. We tested whether there are differences between an adaptive and a conventional version of a computer-based hypoglycaemia education program concerning successful training and user friendliness. One hundred and twenty randomized diabetic patients were enrolled in this study. The two different programs were compared by using the following criteria: (1) the number of actions needed to get out of or prevent hypoglycaemia, (2) the need for external help, (3) the average time needed for completing one task and (4) user friendliness as determined by a questionnaire. Patients using the adaptive computer-based hypoglycaemia education program needed less actions to get out of or prevent hypoglycaemia, less external help and less time to finish tasks. Furthermore, the user friendliness of the adaptive computer program received a significantly better rating by the patients. The adaptive computer-based hypoglycaemia education program shows significantly better results as compared to a conventional one. Therefore, using adaptive computer-based programs might be helpful for education of patients.
authors.affiliation: University of Leipzig, III. Medical Department, Philipp-Rosenthal-Strasse 27, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Istvan-Tibor
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Nebel
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Klemm
authors.forename: Mathias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fasshauer
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Hans-Joachim
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Verlohren
authors.forename: Antje
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klaiberg
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Paschke
mesh_terms: D001292:Attitude to Computers; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003197:Computer Literacy; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction / Q000592:standards*; D003922:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1 / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007003:Hypoglycemia / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012648:Self Care / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014584:User-Computer Interface