Construction and implementation of an online oral health education program for community-dwelling elder adults

doi:10.3761/j.issn.0254-1769.2026.01.001

Abstract

Abstract:

Objective To develop and evaluate an oral health education program for the elderly in the communities using WeChat Mini Programs as the delivery platform，providing a nursing care reference for the age-friendly development of digital health education in nursing practice. Methods We employed semi-structured interviews，literature review and analysis，and expert meetings to develop an oral health education program for the elderly base on cognitive load theory. Using a convenience sampling method，elderly individuals from 3 communities in Chongqing were selected between November 2024 and April 2025. Participants were randomly assigned in a 1 ∶ 1 ratio to either an experimental group（n=37） or a control group（n=37）. The experimental group received the mini-program-based oral health education program，while the control group received conventional oral health education. After the intervention，differences in cognitive load between the 2 groups were compared using the workload profile，reading comprehension scores，and average reading time. The application experience of the intervention in the experimental group was evaluated through semi-structured interviews. Results A total of 36 participants in the experimental group and 34 in the control group completed the intervention. After the intervention，the experimental group demonstrated significantly lower workload（P<0.01） and significantly better performance（P<0.001） than the control group. However，there was no significant difference in average reading time between the 2 groups（P>0.05）. Totally 3 themes were extracted from interviews with 11 participants：perceived ease of usability and integration，perceived readabiling and empowerment，perceived motivation and sense of achievement. Conclusion The program can effectively reduce cognitive load for the elderly，promote their oral health education knowledge comprehension and internalization，as well as enhance learning motivation and engagement experience. It provides both theoretical insights and practical models for developing age-friendly digital health education interventions.

Key words: Cognitive Load, Readability, Aged, Health Education, Digital Health, Nursing Care

摘要：

目的构建基于小程序的老年人口腔健康教育方案并评价其在社区老年人中的应用效果，为数字化健康教育的适老化发展提供护理实践参考。方法基于认知负荷理论，采用半结构式访谈、文献检索及分析和专家会议，构建基于小程序的口腔健康教育方案。采用便利抽样法，选取2024年11月—2025年4月在重庆市3个社区的老年人作为研究对象，按照1 ∶ 1的比例随机分配至试验组和对照组（各37名），试验组接受基于小程序的口腔健康教育方案，对照组接受常规口腔健康教育。干预后，采用工作负荷描述量表得分、阅读理解成绩和平均阅读时间比较两组认知负荷的差异，并对试验组进行半结构式访谈，评估该方案的应用体验。结果最终试验组36名、对照组34名完成干预。干预后，试验组的工作负荷描述量表得分低于对照组（P<0.01），阅读理解成绩优于对照组（P<0.001），但两组的平均阅读时间比较，差异无统计学意义（P>0.05）。共访谈试验组11名社区老年人，提炼出感知易用性与融入度、感知易懂性与赋能感、感知激励性与获得感3个主题。结论应用该方案能有效降低社区老年人的认知负荷，促进其对口腔健康教育知识的理解与内化，并提升其学习动机和参与体验，为适老化数字健康教育提供理论依据与参考。

关键词: 认知负荷, 可读性, 老年人, 健康教育, 数字健康, 护理

TAO Binbin, YIN Qianyu, CHAI Zhaowu, AO Chunyan, LIU Ping, ZHANG Qian, YANG Bing. Construction and implementation of an online oral health education program for community-dwelling elder adults[J]. Chinese Journal of Nursing, 2026, 61(1): 9-16.

陶彬彬, 阴倩羽, 柴召午, 敖春燕, 刘萍, 张黔, 杨冰. 口腔健康教育方案的构建及在社区老年人中的应用研究[J]. 中华护理杂志, 2026, 61(1): 9-16.

Figures/Tables 2

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