Impact of online therapeutic education on asthma control in youth: an emergency department study

Asthma is a widespread chronic respiratory disease. It affects all age groups, mainly youth. Its management aims to prevent exacerbations and ensure normal daily-life activity. Current international recommendations attach particular importance to the therapeutic education to improve asthma control and reduce emergency room visits.

To assess the impact of online therapeutic education for youth asthmatics initiated in the emergency department on the level of asthma's control.

Descriptive-evaluative study conducted over six months including asthmatics aged 14 to 35 years old living in Ariana. Asthma control was evaluated according to the 2019 Global Initiative for Asthma recommendations with a reassessment at three months after online therapeutic education.

N=75; 18% of patients were adolescents, sex-ratio = 0.56. University education was noted in 73% of cases and high socioeconomic status in 48% of subjects. 55% of participants had no basic knowledge of the asthma's pathophysiology. Moderate classification of the last exacerbation was noted in 71% of patients and humidity was the most common exacerbation trigger (76%). A significant improvement in asthma control was observed after therapeutic education (p <0.001) with a positive correlation with female gender (p=0.048), basic knowledge of asthma's pathophysiology (p=0.001) and mild classification of the last exacerbation (p=0.039). Male gender and humidity as exacerbation trigger were independent factors negatively influencing control outcome after therapeutic education.

The emergency department is the referral unit of the management of asthmatics with acute events. This represents an important opportunity to share educational messages that have proven effective using an online model.