Zur Effizienz der Nachschulung von Kindern und Jugendlichen mit Asthma bronchiale

Abstract

Background: Repetitive individual ambulatory education sessions after an individual ambulatory asthma training program are known to increase its effectiveness. We aimed to study how many additional ambulatory asthma training sessions are necessary in order to optimize the training effect. Methods: Within 2 years, a total of 522 patients participated in our ambulatory asthma training program. At the first visit in the asthma clinic, each patient obtained individual asthma training. Additional individual training sessions were offered at each appointment in the asthma clinic. The appointments were at intervals of 3 - 6 months. 1 additional training session was accepted by 185 patients. 155 patients took part in 2 additional training sessions, 108 in 3,56 in 3, 15 in 5 and 3 patients in 6 sessions, respectively. At each appointment, the course of the disease was evaluated by a questionnaire, furthermore, lung function testing was performed. The percentages of patients showing improvement, no improvement, or deterioration in asthma severity were compared by Χ 2 -tests. Results: The highest percentage of patients (72.2%) showing improvement in asthma severity was documented at the fourth appointment, i.e. after 3 additional individual training sessions. Conclusion: In individual ambulatory asthma training programs, at least 3 additional individual training sessions at intervals of 3 - 6 months appear to be necessary for obtaining the maximum effect. In conclusion, structured education programs can be effective even in an outpatient setting, especially if additional training sessions are offered.