Asthma Review for Pharmacists Providing Asthma Education

Abstract

Asthma is the most common pediatric illness affecting more than 6 million children in the United States. Children with asthma have more frequent office visits and hospitalizations compared with adults. Despite advances in therapies, asthma still has a significant effect on the health care system. Regardless of the setting, pharmacists are uniquely equipped with an intimate knowledge of medications. With this knowledge, they can provide education to patients at various points throughout the health care system, from hospitalization to office visits to point of pick up at the pharmacy. The goal of this article is to equip the pharmacist with the necessary knowledge to provide education to these patients in a variety of practice settings, including community pharmacies, ambulatory care settings, and during transitions in care.

Effectiveness of a short training program for community pharmacists to improve knowledge and practice of asthma counselling – A simulated patient study

“…Overall, our study supports the effectiveness of implementing a short training program for community pharmacists to improve their practical skills and knowledge for counselling asthmatic patients. By reviewing the guidelines [5,28] and reference materials [8,10,11,16] and consulting health professional experts, we have developed a questionnaire and training tool that embrace the core knowledge and skills needed by pharmacists for the effective management of asthma in the community. Based on the results of our study, we may state that asthmatic patients will receive more valuable and relevant advice from community pharmacists who attended the training program.…”

“…The second limitation is that we had to develop our own questionnaire tailored for our study objectives and the context of the country, as there was no formal questionnaire for asthma knowledge evaluation available. In this development process, we had referred to publications such as the necessary knowledge required of pharmacists [10], published questionnaires [11,16], current guidelines [5,17], and opinions of experienced experts and advisers who are working in clinical settings and community pharmacy to reduce subjective bias. Furthermore, our questionnaire was not validated using a formal method -it was, however, tested on pharmacy students and small groups of community pharmacists before being implemented in the study.…”

“…An asthma knowledge questionnaire with 20 closed-ended questions was developed based on the necessary knowledge required of pharmacists [10], published questionnaires [11,16], and current guidelines [5,17]. A draft questionnaire was reviewed thoroughly by 4 lecturers from Hanoi University of Pharmacy, 2 experienced researchers at the University of Newcastle, 2 respiratory specialists in Hanoi, and 3 experienced community pharmacists working in Hanoi.…”

“…inhaler devices), route of administration, and potential side effects. Furthermore, pharmacists may be involved in writing asthma action plans to help patients monitor their daily symptoms, assess their level of control, and determine what actions and medications should be taken based on that information [10].…”

The Influence of the Pharmacists’ Training on the Patients’ Education in the Field of Inhalation Techniques in Community Pharmacies in Poland

“…Many of the therapeutic problems are caused by an incorrect inhaler technique. Pharmacists are in an excellent position to educate such patients because they are in a highly accessible medical profession [5,6].…”