title: Benefits of an asthma education program provided at primary care sites on asthma outcomes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although it is a key-recommendation of all recent asthma guidelines, self-management education is still insufficiently offered in primary care settings.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To demonstrate the benefits of an educational program offered at the site of primary care (Family Medicine Clinics- FMC) by trained asthma educators on patient outcomes and healthcare use.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was a one-year pre-post intervention study. Patients with a diagnosis of mild to moderate asthma were enrolled from six FMC. After an initial encounter by the educator, an assessment of educational needs and a spirometry were done, followed by 3 follow-up visits at 4-6 weeks, 4-6 months and one year. Expiratory flows, asthma control criteria, knowledge about asthma, adherence to medication and healthcare and medication use were assessed at each visit.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data from 124 asthma patients (41M/83F), aged 55 ± 18 years, were analyzed. After initiating the intervention, there was a progressive increase in asthma knowledge and an improvement in medication adherence. The number of unscheduled visits for respiratory problems went from 137 to 33 (P < 0.0001), the number of antibiotic treatments from 112 to 33 (P = 0.0002) and the number of oral corticosteroids treatments from 26 to 8 (NS). Marked improvements were observed in regard to inhaler technique and provision of a written action plan.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study shows that an educational intervention applied at the site of primary care can result in significant improvements in patient asthma outcomes and reduce unscheduled visits and inappropriate use of medications such as antibiotics.
authors.affiliation: Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada. Electronic address: lpboulet@med.ulaval.ca.
authors.forename: Louis-Philippe
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Boulet
authors.affiliation: Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Québec, Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Marie-Ève
authors.initials: MÈ
authors.lastname: Boulay
authors.affiliation: Réseau québécois de l'asthme et de la MPOC (RQAM), Québec, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Guylaine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gauthier
authors.affiliation: Réseau québécois de l'asthme et de la MPOC (RQAM), Québec, QC, Canada; Hôpital St-François d'Assise, Québec, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Livia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Battisti
authors.affiliation: Réseau québécois de l'asthme et de la MPOC (RQAM), Québec, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Valérie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Chabot
authors.affiliation: Centre hospitalier universitaire de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Marie-France
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Beauchesne
authors.affiliation: Réseau québécois de l'asthme et de la MPOC (RQAM), Québec, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Denis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Villeneuve
authors.affiliation: Réseau québécois de l'asthme et de la MPOC (RQAM), Québec, QC, Canada.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Côté
mesh_terms: D001249:Asthma / Q000628:therapy*; D019468:Disease Management; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012648:Self Care; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Asthma; Asthma control; Asthma treatment; Education; Family practice; Primary care