The effect of educational intervention on self-care learning in patients with asthma; the results of a randomized clinical trial

Introduction: Asthma is one of the prevalent and costly diseases. Various studies have shown that self-care plays a major role in preventing the complications, improving the life quality, and reducing the care expenditures of asthma. Therefore, strengthening the asthma patients in caring for themselves and using planned trainings is highly necessary. Objectives: The present study aimed to investigate the effect of education on self-care learning in the patients suffering from asthma. Patients and Methods: The present interventional study was conducted on 80 patients referring to specialized clinics of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences who had the inclusion criteria of the study. The patients were selected through convenient sampling and randomly assigned to either the control or the intervention group. The educational intervention included five sessions of training on self-care. The study data were collected using a demographic questionnaire as well as a knowledge assessment test and the results were analyzed through the SPSS statistical software. Results: The study results revealed no significant difference between the two groups regarding the demographic variables. However, comparison of the mean of changes in the two groups' knowledge scores showed a significant increase in the intervention group's knowledge score (P<0.001). Conclusion: The findings of this study confirmed the patients' need for learning self-care methods as well as the effectiveness of planned educational programs. Therefore, using and strengthening self-care trainings are highly recommended for asthma patients in clinics.