Effect of interventional health educational program on clinical improvement in a sample of Egyptian school-age asthmatic children

Abstract

Background/aim Asthma is one of the most widespread chronic disorders. To achieve better control over the disease, health intervention education programs could be applied to manage asthma and its consequences effectively to have a better quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of interventional health education programs on asthma symptoms and the quality of life of Egyptian asthmatic children. Patients and methods This study was conducted as an interventional study on asthmatic children and patients aged 6–16 years. Potential asthmatics according to GINA guidelines were enrolled in the study. Pulmonary function tests were applied including forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC) and FEV1/FVC ratio. 97 asthmatic cases were evaluated by asthma scoring, asthma control, and pediatric asthma quality of life questionnaire. All the study procedures were conducted at the start of the study and after applying the educational intervention program. Results The present results reported marked significant improvement (P<0.05) in the respiratory symptoms after the application of the intervention education program including cough, night symptoms, dyspnea, and chest pain. In addition significant improvement (P<0.05) occurred in the posteducational pulmonary function tests, including FEV1, prebronchodilator and postbronchodilators while there is no significant difference pre and postbronchodilator, FVC compared with the pre-educational pulmonary function tests. Conclusion The interventional health education program has been useful for the improvement of clinical symptoms, pulmonary function, and quality of life of Egyptian school-age asthmatic patients and the performance of their families.