A self-management education programme for adults with asthma

Methods

An explanatory sequential complementary mixed-methods design was adopted. This design encompassed a quasi-experiment using a pre- and post-test comparative study, followed by a qualitative part using face-to-face interviews with patients. The intervention was an educational programme that included topics selected based on patients’ needs in the review and following the Saudi Initiative for Asthma (SINA) guidance.¹ The programme was tested to determine whether it provide patients with the necessary knowledge and skills to self-manage their asthma and consequently reduce their visits to emergency departments. Further, the programme was approved and co-designed with nursing staff who provide care for patients with asthma in the selected hospital and following consultation with patients. The programme was delivered by nurses and other professionals who were trained to ensure the quality of delivery. Data were collected pre-, post- and at 3 and 6 months following the intervention and included topics related to asthma, Asthma Control Test, Asthma Self-Management Questionnaire, the Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire and the Patient Activation Measure (PAM) instrument. Prior to data collection, instruments were all translated to Arabic, the language of participants, and validated to assure the validity of patients’ responses. Patients in the control group were able to receive the intervention after 6 months, the last data collection point in the study.