Authors (including presenting author) :
Ng SK(1)(2), Chau PC(2), Chan WK(2), Shek MY(1) , Li TY(1), Cheng CH(1), Lam YY(1), Ma PK(1), Chiu WK(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Paediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, United Christian Hospital, (2)The Nethersole School of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Introduction :
The prevalence of asthma diagnosis and the hospitalisation rate of childhood asthma have been increasing over the recent years. Evidence suggests children in Hong Kong obtained a lower rate in adequate asthma control compared with those in other Asian regions. Poor asthma control restricts the activities of children, increases the frequency of consultation with doctors and affects the lifestyle of their families. Recent studies have shown that use of asthma multimedia educational programmes during hospitalisation significantly reduce unscheduled emergency visits.
Objectives :
To evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative Asthma Educational Program (AEP) on parental and child outcomes.
Methodology :
We recruited 28 children (mean age 4.2 years, SD 1.6) from an acute hospital and 12 of these children were initial diagnosed with asthma. The age of the parents ranged from 24 to 65 years. Over 60 percent of these children had three or more episodes of wheezing attack in the past year. Half of them had wheezing attack experience during their first 12 months of life. Eligible participants were randomised to receive either the usual care or the AEP on the day before discharge. Children and their parents were evaluated for clinical outcomes and knowledge, attitude and practice of asthma self-management before and immediately after intervention and at week 8 after intervention.
Result & Outcome :
Compared with the controls, the intervention group had significant improvements in the attitude of asthma self-management (p < 0.05) at week 8. The younger children had the higher readmission rate and unscheduled doctor consultation, especially in control group. Some control cases prevented asthmatic attack through nurse led mobile consultation. Nurses recommended them to use the reliever when there were early signs of asthmatic attack. There was no significant differences between groups on the other clinical outcomes. Discussion: An innovative AEP for children with asthma can improve the attitude in asthma self-management. Nurse led educational program and consultation might decrease the readmission rate. A full-scale trial will be needed to assess the potential benefits on asthma children and their families.
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