Asthma Patient Education in the Emergency Room

BACKGROUND:

Many urban asthma emergency room patients lack effective self-management. Most current training programs are administered in outpatient settings and have low attendance rates for emergency room patients. There is a great need to develop effective programs that can be easily administered in the emergency room for patients who, in many cases, are not present in other settings to receive education. This proposal builds on preliminary studies and is tailored to provide emergency room patients with basic education during "a teachable moment" when they may be most receptive to asthma information.

DESIGN NARRATIVE:

Patients will be recruited from two New York City urban emergency rooms or inpatient settings and randomized to the intervention or control groups. Intervention patients will receive a protocol focusing on asthma self-management, education, self-efficacy, and social support, with telephone reinforcement for 8 weeks. Control patients will receive standard emergency room education about asthma.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients will be eligible if they are 18 years of age or older
• Fluent in English
• Have a known diagnosis of asthma
• Will receive treatment for asthma during the current hospitalization or emergency room visit.

Exclusion criteria

• Cognitive deficits
• Other pulmonary diseases or severe comorbidity
• Do not have out-patient access to a telephone