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Long-term reduction in asthma morbidity following an asthma self-management programme
W J D'Souza1, H Te Karu, C Fox
1Wellington Asthma Research Group, Dept of Medicine, Wellington School of Medicine, New Zealand.
The European Respiratory Journal
|May 22, 1998
Summary
The adult credit card asthma self-management plan significantly reduced asthma symptoms and healthcare visits two years post-program. This plan improves long-term asthma control for adults.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonary Medicine
- Public Health
Background:
- The adult
- credit card
- asthma self-management plan demonstrated effectiveness in reducing asthma morbidity during a 6-month program.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the
- credit card
- asthma self-management plan two years after program completion.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 58 participants, originally enrolled in a 6-month community asthma program, were surveyed two years post-completion.
- Asthma morbidity markers and medical service utilization were compared for the 12 months pre-enrolment and the two years post-program.
Main Results:
- Significant improvements were observed in most asthma morbidity measures.
- Nighttime awakenings due to asthma decreased from 29% to 9% (p=0.02).
- Emergency general practitioner visits dropped from 43% to 16% (p=0.001), and hospital emergency visits decreased from 19% to 5% (p=0.02).
- Hospital admissions reduced from 17% to 5% (p=0.04).
- Peak flow monitoring increased from 24% daily use to 73% during asthma attacks.
Conclusions:
- The
- credit card
- asthma self-management plan leads to sustained reductions in asthma morbidity and acute healthcare needs.
- Adult asthma patients tend to use peak flow monitoring more during exacerbations than routinely.