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Optimal home self-management in young children with asthma includes accurate symptom identification followed by timely and appropriate treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate a home-based asthma educational intervention targeting symptom identification for parents of children with asthma. Two hundred twenty-one children with asthma were enrolled into an ongoing home-based clinical trial and randomized into either a standard asthma education (SAE) or a symptom/nebulizer education intervention (SNEI). Data included home visit records and parent's self-report on questionnaires. Symptom identification and self-management skills significantly improved from preintervention to postintervention for parents in both groups with the exception of checking medications for expiration dates and the frequency of cleaning nebulizer device and equipment. However, significantly more parents of children in the SNEI group reported treating cough symptoms as compared with the SAE group (p = 0.05). Of concern is that only 38% of all parents reported having an asthma action plan in the home. A targeted home-based asthma education intervention can be effective for improving symptom identification and appropriate use of medications in children with asthma. Home asthma educational programs should address accurate symptom identification and a demonstration of asthma medication delivery devices.

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