Background:Asthma, being a chronic inflammatory disease requires not only medical treatment but also complimentary healthcare, self-management strategies and interventions for the appropriate management and possible prevention of attack as well as reduction of school absences and days of restricted activity and decrease emergency room utilization.
Methods:Randomized clinical trial (RCT) data reviewed for outcomes and processes associated with asthma educational and behavioral interventions provided by different types of health professionals. Thestudy group has synthesized studies that identified barriers and interventions to improve asthma symptoms and management in children through searching in MEDLINE,Cochrane EMBASE, TOXLine and CINAHL considering papers starting from 1999.
Results:Physician-led interventions were most successful for outcomes related to the use of health care. Multidisciplinary teams were best in achieving symptom reduction and quality of life. Lay persons were best in achieving self-management/self-efficacy outcomes. Components most frequently employed in successful programs are skills to improve patient–clinician communication and education to enhance patient self-management. Fifty percent of interventions achieved reduction in the use of health care and one-third in symptom control. A combination approach including self-management and patient–clinician communication involving multidisciplinary team members may have the greatest effect on most outcomes.
Conclusion: strong evidences suggest that the development of self-management and clinician–patient communication skills are essentially required and considered as critical factors for Asthma patients particularly children symptoms alleviation and outcomes improvement in the long term. This can be achieved by appropriate self-care, awareness programs through effectiveeducational and behavioral intervention which are crucial components associated with success across outcomes and providers.