[Education strategies in the therapy of asthma]

Bronchial asthma is a disease whose incidence has increase over the past years despite the effectivity of the pharmacological therapy. The relevant role of education in the control of asthma has been stressed for a long time. The knowledge by the patients and their relatives of the trigger factors, the clinical manifestations of asthma and the relationship between symptoms and severity of the disease and the decision making by the patients their selves in order to self-modified the therapy without the need to consult with the physician. This kind of educational program has shown to be very useful in order to maintain a more strict control of the disease and, despite their financial cost, the have a favourable cost-benefit ratio due to the reduction in the number of hospitalized patients and lenght of stay.