Asthma Education and Health Outcomes of Children Aged 8 to 12 Years

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the health outcomes of 8- to 12-year-old urban-dwelling children with moderate to severe persistent asthma who participated in a modified Open Airways for Schools (OAS) asthma education program. It was hypothesized that the intervention group would have improved health outcomes when compared to control. A 2-group, 3-points-in-time method was used to conduct the study. The intervention group demonstrated significant and sustained improvement in asthma knowledge. There was no significant difference between groups for quality of life or pulmonary function. While OAS is a good program for asthma education, the program alone may not be sufficient to improve risk factors associated with poor pulmonary function. Future studies should incorporate environmental interventions.

How can we support children, adolescents and young adults in managing chronic health challenges? A scoping review on the effects of patient education interventions

“…Health‐related quality of life was measured in 23 studies. From these, eleven did not find any significant differences between the intervention group and the control group, while 12 studies found significant effects or improvements in intervention groups over time …”

“…Ten studies from interventions tailored to children and adolescents with asthma reported improved asthma control and decreased number of asthma exacerbations. One study found no changes in asthma control …”

“…Knowledge was investigated in 10 studies . All these studies reported significant improvements in knowledge scores after intervention.…”

“…Four of the studies that had investigated symptom frequency found no differences, [26][27][28][29] and 25 studies reported reduction of symptoms and/or awareness of symptom triggers. Ten studies from interventions tailored to children and adolescents with asthma reported improved asthma control 51,[55][56][57][58][59][60] and decreased number of asthma exacerbations. 38,55,56,61,62 One study found no changes in asthma control.…”

“…38,55,56,61,62 One study found no changes in asthma control. 57 All the studies that had investigated medical adherence and/or use of medication reported better adherence to medications 31,32,38,55,[63][64][65] and/or decreased need for use of medication. 53,55,[65][66][67][68] Health-related quality of life was measured in 23 studies.…”