A review of adult asthma and the effectiveness of education programs in reducing symptoms

Abstract

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that occurs in children and adults. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recommends asthma self-management education to be essential in providing patients with the skills necessary to control asthma and improve outcomes. A number of studies have been conducted to assess the effectiveness of these educational programs in children; however, such studies have not demonstrated efficacy in adult populations. This review explores the epidemiology of asthma, the different categories of asthma based on demographic differences, and environmental triggers of asthma. We also discuss common medical options that are available to treat asthma. We then describe the components of an asthma education program and the effectiveness in improving patient outcomes. The literature review was conducted using the National Library of Medicine Pub Med search engine. Comprehensive reviews were focused on the English literature involving human subjects in the last 5 years. Randomized controlled trials were selected for a citation on each subject when available. The Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR-3; Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma – Report 2007) was used as the primary reference source for standard of care treatment guidelines. Search terms included asthma, motivational interviewing, irritant-induced asthma, asthma education, home intervention, telemedicine, nitric oxide, asthma action plan, occupational asthma, IgE-mediated asthma, asthma guidelines, asthma prevalence, and asthma treatment.