Pilot study of a home-based asthma health education program

Area of Science:

• Pediatric respiratory health
• Family-centered care
• Health education interventions

Background:

• Parental coping and well-being are significantly impacted by caring for a child with asthma.
• Existing care models may not fully address the psychosocial needs of these families.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the influence of a home-based asthma health education program on parental coping and quality of life.
• To assess the effectiveness of a standardized, single-session intervention.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial involving 40 families with children under 11 diagnosed with chronic stable asthma.
• Intervention group received a two-hour home-based education session; control group received a booklet.
• Assessments included the Parent Perception Inventory (PPI), Pediatric Asthma Caregiver Quality of Life Questionnaire (PACQLQ), and Caregiver Perception of Change (CPC) survey at one and three months.

Main Results:

• The home-based education group showed a significant reduction in the need for asthma information (p=0.04) and parental concerns (p=0.02).
• Increased use of coping strategies (p=0.04) and improved perception of the child's asthma (p=0.01) were observed in the intervention group.
• No significant changes in overall quality of life (PACQLQ) were detected (p>0.05).

Conclusions:

• A single, flexible, home-based asthma health education intervention can effectively support families.
• This approach appears beneficial for enhancing parental coping and perception of their child's asthma management.
• Consideration of such interventions is recommended for families managing childhood asthma.