Special presentation: self-management of asthma programs in the USA.
In the USA during the past 5 years, there has been a renaissance of scientific interest and research into health education and programs of self-management. It has not, however, always been possible to translate gains in healthy individuals into similar progress for persons with chronic illness. Among chronic disorders affecting children, asthma ranks as a prominent cause of morbidity and school absenteeism. To accomplish this, NIH and NIAID has supported a variety of asthma self-management programs aimed at enhancing knowledge of disease among patients and parents. A further goal has been to translate this knowledge to changes in behavior in order to reduce morbidity of disease. The most successful programs have been conducted by non-physician health care professionals (nurses, social workers, teachers). The least successful programs have included mass distribution of printed materials by pharmaceutical companies and lay organizations. It is believed that broader application of such programs will help not only the patient but the physician improve the care of asthmatic individuals.
D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D009316:National Institutes of Health (U.S.); D014481:United States