Effectiveness of Nursing Intervention for Managing Paediatric Asthma: A Meta-Analysis

Asthma is a prevalent chronic condition among children, significantly impacting their quality of life and imposing a burden on healthcare systems. Nursing interventions, encompassing education, care coordination and symptom management, are increasingly recognized as critical components of paediatric asthma care. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of nursing interventions on various asthma-related outcomes.

A comprehensive search of PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus and Web of Science was conducted, identifying 35 studies involving over 6394 participants. Outcomes included asthma control, emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, quality of life (QoL), acute asthma attacks, correct inhaler usage, medication adherence and symptom frequency. Random-effects models were used for pooling standardized mean differences (SMDs) and odds ratios (ORs), with heterogeneity assessed using I² and τ².

Nursing interventions significantly reduced ED visits (SMD -1.741; OR 0.450) and hospitalizations (OR 0.378), improved QoL (SMD 1.013), reduced acute asthma attacks (SMD -2.149) and enhanced inhaler usage (SMD 1.254). Significant reductions in daytime and nighttime symptoms were observed (SMD -1.700 and -0.610, respectively). However, effects on asthma control (SMD 0.618; OR 3.011) and medication use (OR 0.970) were not statistically significant. Heterogeneity was high for several outcomes.

Nursing interventions significantly improve acute care utilization, symptom control and QoL in paediatric asthma management, highlighting their value in clinical practice. Standardized protocols and further research are needed to optimize and sustain these benefits.