Delivering optimal care to the person with asthma: what are the key components and what do we mean by patient education?

Abstract

D De el li iv ve er ri in ng g o op pt ti im ma al l c ca ar re e t to o t th he e p pe er rs so on n w wi it th h a as st th hm ma a: : w wh ha at t a ar re e t th he e k ke ey y c co om mp po on ne en nt ts s a an nd d w wh ha at t d do o w we e m me ea an n b by y p pa at ti ie en nt t e ed du uc ca at ti io on n? ? ABSTRACT: The new understanding of the pathogenesis of asthma has led to an increasing perception of the disease as a chronic condition, rather than one consisting of acute exacerbations. Health professionals need to help patients to accept this new understanding, and this involves a consideration of how best to deliver care and how best to enhance compliance.Good communication is essential, and structured patient education has now been shown to be cost effective. All health professionals need to think how education may best be incorporated into their care. Such care will involve the development of a partnership between health professional and the patient and their loved ones, and the acquisition by patients of skills in self-management.Several unknowns remain regarding who benefits more from group education as opposed to individual education, and some details of guided self-management. However, in the face of clear evidence of the benefits of patient education, these areas for further study should not delay the adoption of a strong commitment to education by all of those who care for those with asthma.

What can we generalize from research on patient education and clinical health promotion to physician counseling on diet?

“…Health promotion, disease prevention and community-based care are receiving more attention from Canadian of®cials looking to deliver more longterm health for less money (Makrides et al, 1997). Evidence that good communication and structured patient education can be cost-effective for conditions like asthma (Partridge, 1995) and arthritis (Lorig et al, 1993) will likely encourage the expansion of similar programs. Recognition of Precede ± Proceed model interactions has shaped the pattern of recently described patient care redesign at a large integrated teaching health care system located in the southeast, for example (Yingling & Trocino, 1997).…”

Change in asthma and COPD prescribing by Italian general practitioners between 2006 and 2008

“…Asthma and COPD still remain underdiagnosed and under-or badly treated worldwide, [9][10][11][12][13][14] and there remains a substantial discrepancy between the actual care provided and guideline-defined best treatment in patients with mild to moderate asthma or COPD in primary care. 15,16 There have been few studies investigating the quality of asthma and COPD care in Italian general practice. One study showed that a high number of patients with asthma and COPD have poor control of their disease, and suggested that Italian general practitioners (GPs) may misunderstand and misclassify the real level of disease severity and were therefore not modifying pharmacological treatment accordingly.…”

Impacto de uma intervenção educacional de curta duração sobre a adesão ao tratamento e controle da asma

“…2011;37(1): [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] or less), and had a low family income (70% of the families received less than 3 times the national minimum wage). Regarding smoking status, 62.6% had never smoked, 35.7% were former smokers, and only 1.7% currently smoked.…”

“…Studies have shown that a certain percentage of patients do not return to the hospital for this purpose, even after having expressed a desire to do so. (23,24) Inhaled corticosteroids are the most effective class of medications for the treatment of persistent asthma. (25) An important point in the present study was that the educational approach emphasized the need for long-term adherence to corticosteroid therapy, which resulted in an improvement in the use of these medications.…”

“…2011;37(1): [19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27] educational intervention at a routine visit is the fact that there is no need for the patient to schedule another visit or go to the hospital again. Studies have shown that a certain percentage of patients do not return to the hospital for this purpose, even after having expressed a desire to do so.…”