Effect of Education on Asthma Control in Children: A Quasi- Experimental Study

Background the prevalence of asthma has increased significantly in recent decades, especially in lower socioeconomic groups and in minority populations. because of the increasing prevalence of asthma among children in worldwide and iran, the importance of timely control of the disease after its diagnosis and few studies on the effect of education on asthma control in iran, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of education on asthma control in children. materials and methods in this quasi-experimental study, 104 iranian children (6-14 years old) with asthma referred to asthma and allergy clinic of children's medical center in tehran, iran, were studied via convenience sampling method. recruitment was occurred between 2011 and 2015. subjects randomly were divided into two equal groups of intervention and control. for intervention group, common education as well as special education in format of booklet, pamphlets, cd and group training sessions were applied every two weeks within the first two months of follow up and every two months then after; while the control group received usual care. results the means of fev1/ fvc change, frequency of admission to the ed, hospitalization and absence from school and use of steroids were significantly different before and after education in the intervention group; while changes among measured parameters in the control group were not significantly different (p>0.05). conclusion the results of this study showed that specific education has significant helpful effect on asthma attack control in children.