Benefits at 3 yrs of an asthma education programme coupled with regular reinforcement

The benefits at 3 yrs of an asthma self-management education programme coupled with educational reinforcement were assessed at follow-up visits in 63 adults with chronic asthma. Changes in asthma-related morbidity parameters, lung function and use of different classes of drugs before intervention and after 1, 2 and 3 yrs of the asthma education programme were compared using Friedman one-way analysis of variance. Improvements in the number of days off work or school, general practitioner consultations, admissions to emergency services, hospital admissions and nocturnal awakenings, as well as increases in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), were significant. Comparison of data obtained at 1 yr and 2-3 yrs showed significant differences in the number of asthma-associated sleep disruptions, days off work or school and unscheduled visits to the general practitioner, as well as FEV1, but significant differences between the data obtained at 2 and 3 yrs were not observed. The percentage of patients using oral steroids had decreased significantly at 3 yrs. In adults with chronic asthma, an asthma self-management education programme coupled with educational reinforcement was effective at decreasing asthma morbidity, improving lung function and decreasing consumption of oral steroids.