The effect of the epilepsy management at school mobile health application on the knowledge, attitude and self-management of teachers of children with intellectual disabilities: A randomised controlled study

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the effects of the "Epilepsy Management at School Mobile Health Application (EpiSchool-M)" and "Epilepsy Management at School Digital Education Guide (EpiSchool-R)", developed for teachers of children with intellectual disabilities, on teachers' epilepsy knowledge, attitude and self-management. Method: This study was in a single-blind, follow-up, randomized controlled trial design in three phases (CTN: NCT06807047). In the first phase, the "Epilepsy Management Training Content at School" was developed. In the second phase, "Epilepsy Management at School Digital Training Guide" and a "Epilepsy Management at School Mobile Health Application" were developed based on this content. In the third phase, the effectiveness of the digital education guide and the mobile health application was evaluated with 90 teachers working with children with intellectual disabilities. The study was conducted between December 2022 and May 2025 teachers were assigned to three groups (EpiSchool-R, EpiSchool-M and control) by simple randomization method. Teachers in the intervention groups used either the digital guide or the mobile health application specific to their group for 1.5 months. Data were collected at three different times, on day 0, day 15 and 1.5 months later, using the Individual Identification Form, the Knowledge and Attitudes Toward Epilepsy Among School Teachers Scale, and the Epilepsy Self-Management Scale for Teacher. Results: Teachers in the EpiSchool-M group had significantly higher mean post-test scores in epilepsy knowledge, attitude, and self-management compared to both the EpiSchool-R and control groups. In addition, teachers in the EpiSchool-R group also showed significantly higher scores compared to the control group (p< 0.05). Conclusion: Mobile health applications are an effective and prioritized method for epilepsy education for teachers of children with intellectual disabilities.