Evaluation of a nurse-run asthma school.

Important aims of the study were to investigate whether an educational program (the 'Asthma School') directed by a nurse led to improved knowledge of the disease, to improved self-medication and self-management and to improved, self-rated, functional status. A total of 32 patients (6 males, 26 females, mean age 43 years) was included. The following methods were used to collect the data before and one year after the Asthma School was completed; two study-specific questionnaires for collecting demographic data and measuring different aspects of the patients' knowledge of the disease and its treatment, monthly diary cards, lung-function tests (FEV1) and the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) questionnaire. The main results of the study were an improved knowledge of the disease and its treatment, better self-management, i.e. more frequent use of the peak expiratory flow meter (PEF-meter) and use of inhaled bronchodilators on an as-required basis, fewer patients on sick-leave and a better, self-rated, physical health status. However, in spite of these encouraging results, the lungfunction was found to be unaffected, no pronounced changes in the use of asthma drugs could be found and the patients' need for medical care remained the same.