Effect of peak flow information on patterns of self-care in adult asthma

Self-care is an important issue in the management of adults with asthma. Little is known about the specific strategies used by people with asthma to control symptoms and abort asthma attacks. The purpose of this study was to identify self-care strategies used to control asthma symptoms and to determine the effect of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) information on selection of self-care strategies. Thirty adult subjects with asthma were randomly assigned to either a control or an experimental group; 28 completed the study. All subjects recorded episodes of dyspnea, wheezing, and chest tightness and self-care actions in an asthma symptom diary. The experimental group recorded PEFR at the beginning and end of each symptom episode. Reported strategies were categorized into problem-focused, emotion-focused, or mixed self-care strategies. The experimental group, with access to PEFR information, used medication significantly less often than the control group. The experimental group also reported fewer and less frequent uses of alternative nondrug strategies.