A systematic review of school-based interventions that include inhaler technique education.

BACKGROUND: Proper use of inhaled medication is essential for the successful treatment of childhood asthma; yet, improper inhaler technique among school-aged children is common. There are many schoolbased asthma education programs, but the extent to which these programs teach inhaler technique is unknown.

METHODS: We systematically reviewed the literature to identify schoolbased asthma interventions that included inhaler technique instruction. We searched several databases, including PubMed, for relevant articles. Studies were included if they were asthma interventions of any type (programs, curriculums, education) conducted at kindergarten through twelfth grade schools that taught inhaler technique and included inhaler technique as an outcome measure. Of the 285 citations identified, the final nine studies (selected from 71 full-text articles) met the inclusion criteria.

RESULTS: Findings from this systematic review identified a very small number of school-based interventions that evaluated improvements in students' inhaler technique. Two of the nine studies (22%) used a validated measure of inhaler technique. Inhaler technique instruction varied in length, from 15 min to 1 h and nurses implemented inhaler technique instruction in six of the nine (67%) interventions. Existing studies offer mixed evidence for sustained technique improvements up to a 12-month follow-up period.

CONCLUSIONS: Evidence suggests that students benefit from school-based inhaler technique education; however, inconsistencies in how technique was measured limit our ability to draw firm conclusions regarding the effectiveness of inhaler technique education on student outcomes. Future studies are needed to identify the most appropriate and feasible inhaler technique education components for use in comprehensive asthma self management interventions.