Preparing M-health application based on programmed instruction
In this research, an educational M-health application was prepared based on the protocol proposed by Sadegh et al. [If the patient chooses the wrong answer, the application returns him to the previous stage to receive the education and study again to select another answer, as the person is guided to the correct answer and consequently, learning takes place. Accordingly, as this learning process progressed, it helped improve the health literacy of patients. Therefore, the educational content and M-health implementation method were designed based on the programmed instruction method and concepts about the printed and functional health literacy. The educational material and application program were designed and implemented by five specialists, including three health education specialists, one doctor, one nurse, and one IT in Health specialist during several sessions. The pilot evaluation of the application was done among ten patients before finalization, and the patients were asked to assess and give feedback on any ambiguity, difficulty, and incomprehensibility of the content or the performance of application. After brief changes, the initial version of the application was finalized. Then, the usability of the application was examined using the opinions of the health care system managers, and the final modifications were made based on the national guidelines for controlling and managing blood pressure, which is supervised by the health deputy in the universities of medical sciences.