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Empowering parents through asthma education.
Mary Jean McCarthy1, Rosemary Herbert, Michael Brimacombe
1University of Prince Edward Island School of Nursing, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada.
Pediatric Nursing
|November 12, 2002
Summary
An empowering approach to asthma education significantly improved parents' sense of control and caregiving abilities, while both methods boosted knowledge. This study highlights effective strategies for pediatric asthma management education.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Pulmonology
- Health Education
- Family Health
Background:
- Asthma is a prevalent chronic childhood illness with substantial family impact.
- Effective asthma management necessitates comprehensive educational strategies.
- Parental education plays a crucial role in managing pediatric asthma.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effectiveness of empowering versus traditional asthma education approaches for parents.
- To evaluate impacts on parental knowledge, sense of control, decision-making, and caregiving ability.
- To inform best practices in pediatric asthma education.
Main Methods:
- Pilot study involving 57 families with asthmatic children.
- Multi-session educational intervention comparing an empowering approach (29 families) with a traditional approach (28 families).
- Data collected pre-intervention, immediately post-intervention, and at 6-month follow-up.
Main Results:
- The empowering approach led to significant improvements in parental sense of control, decision-making, and caregiving ability.
- Both educational approaches resulted in increased parental knowledge regarding asthma management.
- Sustained positive outcomes were observed 6 months post-intervention for the empowering group.
Conclusions:
- An empowering educational approach is superior for enhancing parental confidence and competence in managing childhood asthma.
- Findings support the integration of empowering strategies into pediatric asthma education programs.
- Implications for healthcare professionals include adopting patient-centered and empowering educational models.