Comparison of the Effects of Three Forms of Individualized Education on Asthma Knowledge in Asthmatic Patients

Authors: REZAN DEMİRALAY

Abstract: This study was carried out to compare the effects of three forms of individualized education (verbal, written, and verbal-written) on asthma knowledge in asthmatic patients. For this purpose, a randomized double blind controlled study was conducted with 62 adults with asthma followed-up at the outpatient clinic of Chest Diseases and Tuberculosis of the Faculty of Medicine of Suleyman Demirel University. Patients were randomized to the verbal (n:20), written (n:20), and verbal-written (n:22) education groups. Knowledge of asthma was measured at the baseline and 2 months after education. Before education, knowledge of asthma was low in the three education groups. The ratio of non-compliance with the treatment was 51.6%. Twenty-nine (46.8%) patients had perfect inhaler skill. Forty-one (66.1%) patients used their drug regimes in non-compliance with the Consensus Report. Eleven (17.7%) patients were in strict compliance with the treatment and used their drug regimes in accordance with the Consensus Report. Twenty-seven (43.5%) patients were in strict compliance with the treatment and at the same time used inhaled corticosteroids. Two months after education, the mean change in knowledge score was highest in the verbal-written education group. Before and after education, the mean knowledge score was correlated with education level. The results of this study suggest that asthmatic patients did not have sufficient information about their disease, and additional information about asthma increased their asthma knowledge, and that verbal-written information had a greater impact on patients' knowledge of asthma.

Keywords: Asthma, knowledge, patient education.

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