Introduction: Optimal asthma education (comprising of information, self monitoring, regular medical reviews and a written action plan) significantly improves asthma management. The study was undertaken to assess the impact of optimal asthma education programme on asthma morbidity, inhalation technique and asthma knowledge.
Study design: In non-randomized prospective trial asthma morbidity, (comprising of control of symptoms, unscheduled OPD visits and limitation of physical activities), inhalation technique and asthma knowledge were assessed before and one year after implementation of optimal asthma education programme.
Material and methods: One hundred and seventy two patients of persistent bronchial asthma aged 12 years or more, taking daily anti-inflammatory drugs and having not attended any type of asthma education programme before were included in the present study.
Results: There was significant improvement in asthma morbidity with increase in the number of patients with intermittent and mild persistent asthma and significant decrease in patients with moderate and severe persistent asthma. Before optimal AEP, 30 (17.4%) patients had visited hospital thrice or more due to asthma sickness, after optimal AEP only 5 (8.6%) patients made unscheduled visits only once to hospital (p<0.05). Limitation of physical activities was present in 80 (46.51%) patients before AEP which was significantly reduced to 15 (8.7%) patients after optimal AEP (p<0.05%). Before AEP, inhalation technique was incorrect in 140 (81.3%) patients and after AEP none of the patients had incorrect technique (p<0.001). Only 24 (13.9%) patients had satisfactory knowledge of asthma before AEP and after AEP the number increased significantly to 120 (69.7%) (p<0.001).
Conclusion: Optimal asthma education is an integral part of asthma management which decreases asthma related morbidity, improves inhalation technique and asthma knowledge. Since our follow up was for one year and impact of asthma education programme is likely to decrease in absence of regular follow up, it is important to keep reminding patients about asthma education programme at each follow up visit.