Effectiveness of Asthma Home Management Manual and Low-Cost Air Filter on Quality of Life Among Asthma Adults: A 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background Asthma affects the quality of life (QoL) of millions of people worldwide. Effective control is paramount to a decline in prevalence and severity. To address this, we aimed to investigate the effectiveness of an asthma home management manual and low-cost air filter in improving resource-limited settings. Patients and Methods This randomized controlled trial was conducted between March to July 2022. The participants were 18–55 years old outpatient with asthmatic patients. A total of 114 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to three groups: home management only, home management and air filtering, and control. Validated measurement tools were applied, and the Wilcoxon test was used to evaluate changes in QoL. Results Asthma burden was found in at least one-third of participants in each group. At baseline, there was no difference in mAQLQ scores among participants in all group allocations ( p -value > 0.05), and the air filter group had an increase in the total mAQLQ score ( p -value = 0.044) and post-intervention activity quality of life ( p -value = 0.002). The environmental quality of life increased post-intervention ( p -value = 0.004) and remained higher after four weeks of follow-up compared to baseline ( p -value = 0.041) in the home management group participants. Conclusion The findings indicate that the enforcement of a home management manual and the application of low-cost filters in air circulation systems offer advantages in improving the quality of life of patients with moderate and mild asthma.

Effectiveness of Asthma Home Management Manual and Low-Cost Air Filter on Quality of Life Among Asthma Adults: A 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial [Letter]

“…The research work conducted by Sirilak et al, 1 titled “Effectiveness of Asthma Home Management Manual and Low-Cost Air Filter on Quality of Life Among Asthma Adults: A 3-Arm Randomized Controlled Trial” documented effective and interesting clinical findings. The study concludes that implementing a home management guide and using affordable filters in air circulation systems provide benefits in enhancing the quality of life for individuals with mild to moderate asthma.…”