Efficacy Evaluation of Youth Health Application Program in Promotion of Students Communication Skills: mHealth Approach Intervention

Aims: Today, it is essential that new technologies such as smartphones and their tools, such as applications, be considered in the design of health interventions. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficiency of educational intervention in promoting communication skills among students using the mHealth approach based on the theory of planned behavior. Material Methods: We conducted a quasi-experimental intervention study among 160 university students at Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences in 2020. Data were measured using a self-report questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior constructs. Results were measured at the beginning and two months after the intervention. Data were analyzed by SPSS 16 using Chi-square, independent samples t-test, and paired sample t-test. Findings: The mean age of students was 21.88±2.51 years old. Our findings showed the efficiency of the intervention in increasing the scores of attitude (32.05 increased to 32.76; p=0.005), subjective norms (12.19 increased to 12.40; P=0.038), and behavioral intention (10.32 increased to 11.95; p 0.001) towards learning communication skills in the intervention group. Also, the estimated effect sizes for attitude, subjective norms, and intention were 0.48, 0.23, and 0.72, respectively. Conclusion: We have shown that the tested mHealth program has been effective in promoting attitudes, subjective norms, and intentions to learn communication skills. Given the availability of this technology, it seems that it can lead to useful findings in promoting youth health.