Development and Validation of a Universal Multi-Module Health Education Web Platform for University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial of HIV/AIDS Prevention (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Information platforms have become a major avenue for public knowledge acquisition. However, the current framework of web platforms is not fully developed, and the needs of university students are not well understood by developers. Moreover, despite the low prevalence of HIV/AIDS in China, the situation remains critical for university student groups. OBJECTIVE The aim is to develop and establish a comprehensive, multi-module health education web platform tailored for university students. Specifically, to use HIV/AIDS prevention among university students as a case study to validate the effectiveness of the platform's educational modules. METHODS The web platform was developed following the behavioural guidelines of American medical and health websites. The modules were designed around “the three parts of a medical health education module course,” encompassing video learning, gaming, virtual community, and a question bank. Following development, experts were invited to test and refine the platform's modules. A preliminary experiment was conducted at the School of Nursing, Peking Union Medical College with nine participants, three from each grade. The platform was further refined based on these results. The study involved 146 non-medical undergraduate students from three different types of universities in Beijing, randomly divided into control (n=63) and intervention (n=63) groups. A web-based survey on Knowledge, Belief, and Practices (KBP) concerning AIDS, covering knowledge, belief, and high-risk behaviours with 36 items, was used. Baseline measurements for both groups were initially taken. The intervention group then used the web platform for three consecutive weeks, with a minimum usage of 120 minutes per week, sequentially accessing the video, gaming, and virtual community modules. The control group engaged in self-learning. Post-intervention, the total scores for knowledge, belief, and behaviour were measured for both groups. RESULTS The intervention group's baseline mean score was 22.34±1.668, and the control group's was 22.77±1.736, with no significant statistical difference in baseline data (P>0.05). After three weeks, the intervention group's average total score was 38.19±4.865, compared to 29.84±5.742 for the control group, indicating a statistically significant difference in AIDS KBP levels between the groups (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS The web platform significantly positively impacted the AIDS KBP level among university students, suggesting that it has a significant positive effect on the health education of this demographic. It is recommended to continue developing modules for diseases beyond HIV/AIDS in the future. CLINICALTRIAL Approval:No.2022zglc06017