title: A pilot study of telephone based asthma management.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Self management programs have been advocated for adults who have recently been admitted to hospital or have recently attended an emergency department because of asthma. A new telephone based approach has already been trialled for the management of a number of other chronic conditions. This study sought to determine the effect of a telephone based asthma management program for adults with asthma.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adults with one or more previous admissions for asthma to either or both of two tertiary hospitals between 1 May 2001 and 30 November 2003 were invited to participate. All participants received one face-to-face session with an asthma educator. Participants were randomised to intervention (six telephone calls over 6 months) or control (usual care) groups. Measures of health care utilisation and morbidity were collected weekly for 12 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Seventy-one adults (54 females) with a mean age of 36.2 years were recruited to the study. Twenty hospital re-admissions were recorded for the control group and one for the intervention group at 12 months. Re-admission was significantly associated with allocation to control group (p=0.05). The control group was significantly more likely to report being woken by asthma on more than half the nights of the week (p=0.03).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Telephone based self management intervention results in clinically important reductions in hospital re-admission in adults previously hospitalised with asthma.
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy, La Trobe University, Victoria. k.donald@latrobe.edu.au
authors.forename: Karen J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Donald
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: McBurney
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Teichtahl
authors.forename: Louis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Irving
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010366:Peak Expiratory Flow Rate; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012648:Self Care; D013689:Telephone; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014739:Victoria