Impact of structured education and self management on rural asthma outcomes.
BACKGROUND
This study trialled the outcome for asthma patients of a brief, nurse led, patient education session with general practice review of an Asthma Action Plan.


METHODS
Prospective cohort with before-after measures conducted in six rural general practices. Outcome measures were changes over 12 months in self reported asthma control, quality of life, device use, and unscheduled general practice and emergency department visits for asthma exacerbation.


RESULTS
Eighty-three patients participated. Mean asthma control score decreased but did not reach statistical significance (p=0.124). Quality of life improved for adults (Wilcoxon rank signed test for two related samples p<0.001). The proportion of patients who had one or more unscheduled visits to their general practitioner over 12 months decreased from 23% to 13% (p=0.178) and emergency department presentations decreased from 9% to 4% (p=0.102).


CONCLUSIONS
Structured general practice based education appears to be an effective preventive health care program, with the potential to reduce expensive unscheduled use of health services.
Larson
Ann
A
Combined Universities Centre for Rural Health, University of Western Australia, Geraldton, Western Australia. alarson@cucrh.uwa.edu.au
Ward
Jacqueline
J
Ross
Leanne
L
Whyatt
David
D
Weatherston
Martin
M
Landau
Louis
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000451:nursing; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D036501:Metered Dose Inhalers; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012424:Rural Population; D012648:Self Care; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D055815:Young Adult