2006 OPEN FORUM Abstracts
EVALUATION OF AN ASTHMA EDUCATION AND TREATMENT PROGRAM IN A CLINIC FOR THE UNINSURED
Timothy
B. Op't Holt, Ed.D. R.R.T. AE-C, FAARC,
William Pruitt, M.B.A, R.R.T. C.P.F.T. AE-C, and Robert D Lightfoot MD.
University
of South Alabama, Department of Cardiorespiratory Care and Victory Health
Partners, Mobile, Alabama
Background: Among the outcomes of participation
in asthma education are a decrease in symptoms, hospital and physician visits,
and appropriate use of medications. An asthma education program has been
established at the Victory Health Partners clinic in Mobile Alabama, for the
care of those who are uninsured. We chose to undertake this evaluation project to:
1) determine the effectiveness of the program during the period July 30, 2003
through January 31, 2005 and 2) assist us with making changes in the program to
better serve our patients.
Methods: We used patient visit sheets and
pulmonary function test (PFT) forms to determine the number of patients with
asthma we had treated. After obtaining permission from the Institutional
Research Board, we used these documents and responses to a mail survey to
answer the research questions. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to
determine differences in the pre-and since visit responses (p< 0.05 was
considered significant).
Results: Twenty adult patients participated in
the study out of a possible 41 patients. There was a significant decrease in
symptoms and a significant increase in peak flow/pulmonary function, and
medication use and affordability as a result of the program. Patients who
indicated poor control of their symptoms were notified to make a follow-up
appointment. Twenty-one patients were lost to follow-up.
Conclusions: We
concluded that our program is effective. There was a decrease in patient's
asthma symptoms, need for emergency department visits, and number of work or
school days lost to asthma, an increase in the ability to use asthma
medications without side-effects and the ability to afford the appropriate
medications. Patients thought the program had taught them to control their
asthma and that their breathing was better. Symptom scoring revealed that most
patients are in control of their asthma. We have also learned that we need to
be more careful to document asthma education, to assure distribution of an
asthma action plan, and to get the most out of each visit, because so many
patients are lost to follow-up.