Does a written asthma action plan reduce unscheduled doctor visits in children?
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a written asthma action plan (WAAP) on reducing unscheduled doctor visits, asthma control and quality of life in children with all severities of asthma. This was a randomised controlled, single-blinded study whereby 80 children with asthma were randomly assigned to be either provided a WAAP or verbally counseled . The number of asthmatic exacerbations requiring unscheduled doctor visits, asthma control and quality of life were monitored over 9 mo. At the end of the study, there was no significant difference in the number of unscheduled doctor visits between the 2 groups (p = 0.352). There was no significant difference in asthma control or quality of life between both groups. Hence, the WAAP did not reduce unscheduled doctor visits, nor improve asthma control or quality of life in children with all severities of asthma.
Department of Pediatrics, University Malaya Medical Centre, Lembah Pantai, 59100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Su Sien
SS
Wong
Anna Marie
AM
Nathan
Jessie
J
de Bruyne
Rafdzah
R
Zaki
Siti Zurinah
SZ
Mohd Tahir
D000293:Adolescent; D001249:Asthma / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009819:Office Visits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010349:Patient Compliance; D011788:Quality of Life; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D016896:Treatment Outcome