The relationship between asthma education and the number of hospital visits of asthmatic children /

Abstract

A retrospective study was conducted to determine the relationship between organized asthma education and the number of hospital visits for asthmatic children at a local children's hospital in northeastern Ohio. The database from the hospital's pediatric asthma disease management program was used to obtain data. Pediatric asthmatic patients experiencing hospital visits due to their asthma were identified. Asthmatic children were studied who, along with their families, had participated in an organized asthma education program that followed the approved asthma education guidelines of the National Institutes of Health. Emergency department visits and inpatient visits were recorded for 12 months before and 12 months after intervention. Age, gender, ethnicity, and types of health coverage were identified. The numbers of hospital visits before education and the numbers after education were compared to determine the effect of organized asthma education on the number of hospitalizations of these patients. A total of 90 asthmatic children were studied, each having had at least one hospital visit due to asthma prior to education. Overall, the analysis revealed a decrease in the number of inpatient admissions after education, but an increase in the number of emergency department visits following asthma education.