Developing and pilot testing ASTHMAXcel, a mobile app for adults with asthma.

Objective: We sought to compare the impact of ASTHMAXcel, a novel, guideline-based, patient-facing mobile app to human-delivered asthma education.Methods: We conducted a focus group with asthma patients in the Bronx to identify desired mobile app features. ASTHMAXcel was designed based on patient feedback and consistent with NAEPP, BTS/SIGN, and GINA guidelines. The app was reviewed by internists, allergist/immunologists, and pulmonologists specializing in asthma treatment, asthma educators, and a behavioral scientist, and iteratively refined. The refined version of ASTHMAXcel was administered once via tablet at our outpatient Montefiore Asthma Center (MAC). Asthma knowledge was measured through the Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire (AKQ) pre and post-intervention. We also recorded process outcomes including completion time and patient satisfaction. In parallel, human-delivered education was delivered once at MAC. These outcomes were similarly collected.Results: 60 patients were enrolled with 30 in the ASTHMAXcel and 30 in the human-educator group. Mean AKQ in the ASTHMAXcel group vs human-educator group pre-intervention was 9.9 vs 10.5, p = 0.27. Mean AKQ post-intervention in the ASTHMAXcel group vs human-educator group was 12.3 vs 14.4, p = 0.0002. The mean AKQ improvement for both groups were 2.4 vs 3.9, p = 0.007. Patients were highly satisfied in the ASTHMAXcel group scoring on average 27.9 out of 30 maximum points on the satisfaction survey. There was no difference in satisfaction scores or completion times (minutes) of either intervention.Conclusion: ASTHMAXcel was associated with an increase in AKQ, but the human-educator group experienced a greater improvement. ASTHMAXcel demonstrated no differences in process outcomes vs human-delivered education.

Longitudinal Effects of Mediums of Word Explanation on L2 Vocabulary Learning Strategies Among Chinese Grade-7 Students.

This longitudinal study investigated how different mediums of word explanation affected the use of English vocabulary strategies among Chinese Grade-7 students. 170 students were tested on their English receptive vocabulary size and vocabulary strategy application before and after an 8.33-month intervention. Students were divided into three experimental groups and one control group. The three experimental groups were provided with learning materials that explained the target vocabulary in three mediums, respectively: English-only, English-and-Chinese, and Chinese-only. Results showed that, after the intervention, receptive vocabulary size did not have any direct significant impact on vocabulary strategy development, whereas mediums of word explanation materials impacted students' application of vocabulary learning strategies (VLS) in different ways. Our findings showed that the English-only mediums significantly enhanced students' use of metacognition, cognition, and memorization strategies, but decreased social strategy development. Chinese-only mediums significantly facilitated cognition and memorization strategy development. Implications for L2 vocabulary education are discussed.

Evaluating the ASTHMAXcel Mobile Application Regarding Asthma Knowledge and Clinical Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: We sought to longitudinally assess the efficacy of the patient-facing ASTHMAXcel mobile application in improving asthma knowledge and outcomes in adults with asthma. METHODS: ASTHMAXcel is a novel smartphone application consistent with the National Asthma Education and Prevention Program, Global Initiative for Asthma, and British Thoracic Society/Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network guidelines. The intervention was provided for 1-time use at baseline only. The Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire (AKQ), the Asthma Control Test (ACT), and the mini-Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (mini-AQLQ) were administered at baseline and at 2, 4, and 6 months thereafter. Rates of asthma-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and prednisone use were also evaluated. RESULTS: ACT scores increased significantly at 2, 4, and 6 months (mean scores: 15.1 vs 16.9, P = .038; 15.1 vs 17.2, P = .02; 15.1 vs 17.9, P = .003) after baseline. There were significant increases in AKQ scores at 4 and 6 months (11.7 vs 12.6, P = .02; 11.7 vs 13.1, P = .005) and in mini-AQLQ scores at 6 months (55.5 vs 64.2, P = .02). There were significant decreases in asthma-related emergency department visits at 6 months (0.6 vs 0, P < .001) and in hospitalizations at 4 and 6 months (0.3 vs 0.1, P = .02; 0.3 vs 0, P = .002). Prednisone use decreased at 4 and 6 months (1.2 vs 0.6, P = .01; 1.2 vs 0.3, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: ASTHMAXcel contributes to improved asthma knowledge and outcomes and to decreased health care utilization. ASTHMAXcel is an inexpensive, scalable aid for out-patient asthma management.

Is the Student-Centered Learning Style More Effective Than the Teacher-Student Double-Centered Learning Style in Improving Reading Performance?

Appropriate learning styles enhance the academic performance of students. This research compares and contrasts the popular effect of teacher-student double centered learning style (TSDCLS) and student-centered learning style (SCLS) on one's reading, including reading comprehension, inference, main idea abstraction, and reading anxiety. One hundred and fifty one students in grade 4 from three groups (two experimental groups and one control group) participated in the experiment with 18 weeks' reading comprehension training. The results showed that, first, both learning styles contributed to students' reading comprehension, inference, main idea abstraction, and reading anxiety. Second, the TSDCLS contributed more to reading anxiety, and the SCLS contributed more to reading comprehension. Both learning styles had similar effects on inference and main idea abstraction. From the correlation test, excluding the correlation between SCLS and reading anxiety which was not significant, all other effects were significant. These findings are discussed along with implications and ideas for future research.

Reading Comprehension and Metalinguistic Knowledge in Chinese Readers: A Meta-Analysis.

Metalinguistic knowledge has a facilitative effect on reading comprehension. This meta-analysis examined the relationship between metalinguistic knowledge and reading comprehension among Chinese students. By focusing on both Chinese and English scripts' reading comprehension performance, this study synthesized 46 studies with 73 independent samples that represented 10,793 Chinese students from primary school to university levels. We found that in both Chinese and English scripts' reading, morphological awareness had the strongest correlation with reading comprehension, whereas both phonological awareness and orthographical skill had a similar medium correlation with reading comprehension. All three metalinguistic knowledge, which was not significantly influenced by the selected moderators of grade group, area, language type, and assessment, had an independent correlation with reading comprehension. The results suggested that reading stages did not significantly impact the function of metalinguistic knowledge on both Chinese and English scripts' reading comprehension for Chinese students. In addition, for Chinese students, morphological awareness plays a more important role than phonological awareness and orthographical skill in both Chinese and English scripts' reading comprehension.