The effect of asthma patient education on reducing hospital admissions

Abstract EN

Patient education is important for good health; it is also a foundation for the prevention of various chronic conditions.

Asthma is among the least explored in terms of patient education.

Hospital admissions are the result of poor education, a lack of adherence to medication and treatment, and failure to attend regular check-ups.

Patients lack both awareness of the factors that predispose them to asthma and the means of treatment and prevention.

Increased hospital admissions also lead to higher expenses.

The purpose of the research is to explore the influence of asthma patient education on hospital admissions.

The research objectives were achieved through a review of current studies on social learning and cognitive theories, and an investigation into how asthma-related knowledge relates to patient education.

The sample population included patients diagnosed with asthma from King Saud Medical City in Riyadh.

The method involves purposive sampling.

The most important results are: the need to engage patients in educational programs to decrease the incidence of complications and reduce hospital admission rates; the need to provide instructions regarding the correct use of tools and strategies in order to avoid adverse risks; the importance of nurses' and physicians' roles in controlling asthma in order to reduce hospitalization; appropriate knowledge among asthma patients' families improves the efficiency and quality of healthcare offered by physicians and nurses, thus decreasing hospital admissions; and providing patients with theoretical knowledge and practical expertise is likely to decrease hospital admissions and ensure they can care for themselves at home.

The key recommendations are: to introduce new educational programs in order to provide patients with useful data regarding medications and the use of asthma-related tools; to develop learning methods by helping patients to understand care, medications, the correct use of tools and warning signs, delivered in a format that includes demonstrations of care, teach-back questions and assessments, and that facilitates provider communications; to develop an action plan for patients that is linked with the Electronic Medical Record to allow nurses and physicians to monitor patients' progress remotely and ensure this plan is followed; and to enhance patients' and families' knowledge by offering full participation in their own healthcare and encourage them to partner with clinicians to increase their adherence to disease management in order to become more accountable for their own health.