Education assessment about triggers and environmental control strategies in asthmatic children

Abstract

Introduction Asthma, a chronic inflammatory disease of airways, is one of the most common chronic conditions in children, and its prevalence has been increasing over the past two decade(1). In addition to therapeutic measures, new guidelines are emphasizing on the role of patient education to achieve a good asthma control and self management. In our settings, Pediatric department has been following up asthmatic patients. For a good outcome, education about asthma by the treating team is crucial. The main objective of this study was to assess the level of education and communication of patients and caretakers on asthma triggers and environmental risk factors. Methods Children from 3 to 15 years old known asthmatic who consulted during a period of 6 months from July 1st 2015 to January 30th 2016 were included. Demographic and physiologic characteristics were gathered for each patient, with education status on asthma triggers and control strategies. This study assessed the education status of pediatric asthmatic patients on triggers and environmental control strategies, and logistic regression was used to assess the association between exacerbations and education variables. Results We had a population of 58 children, 51% were older than 5 years and we found the male gender predominant at 62%. Asthma triggers education and discussion was found to be 15.2% and 14.4% respectively and environmental risk factors education and discussion were respectively 10.4% and 10.1%. Only pollen (P value: 0.028) and weather education (P value: 0.003) were significantly associated with exacerbation: on average, the odds of having exacerbation were reduced by 87% (1-0.13) if a patients/caregiver has been educated on effect of allergies/pollen; also study participants who reported that they were educated on weather, their chances of having exacerbation were reduced by 6% (1-0.94). Conclusion: Health care providers discussed and educated caretakers about some asthma triggers and environmental control strategies partially. Given this finding, more research to explore this subject, guidelines and intervention efforts aimed to improve patient education and adequate asthma management still remain important.