What Are the Asthma Nurse Interventions?

¶ … asthma and the methods of prevention. The writer explores the interventions that nurses can use to help patients avoid being hospitalized. The writer also discusses preventative measures that nurses can use to educate their patients who have asthma. There were five sources used to complete this paper.

To the uninitiated, asthma is a common chronic disorder of the airways, resulting in recurrent attacks of breathlessness, generally accompanied by wheezing, chest tightness and cough. It predominantly affects five per cent of the adult population and 10-15 per cent of children (Anadarajah, 2000)."

In the medical profession, nurses are often charged with the intervention and education of their patients. People who have asthma are often looking for ways to avoid hospitalization for their asthma. Being hospitalized can interfere with school schedules, work schedules and other life events. Asthma is a chronic condition and without proper care and treatment patients can begin to feel that they are in a revolving door situation with attacks, and hospitalizations. Nurses who specialize in the treatment of asthma patients can provide educational expertise in intervention methods that can assist in the reduction or elimination of being hospitalized for asthma.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Many experts agree that the key to controlling and treating asthma and its symptoms is education. Seminars, pamphlets, books and other methods are used to reach and teach asthma patients nationwide in how to handle their disease. Asthma nurses are often charged with the routine care and treatment of people who have asthma. The patients will see a doctor as well but the nurse who sees an asthmatic patient, both in the middle of an attack and for preventative care has a significant impact on the interventions used to prevent hospitalization of the asthma patient.

EDUCATION

Asthma nurses have become acutely aware of the importance of education when it comes to intervention with asthma patients who want to prevent and reduce the number of hospitalizations that they must endure. Years ago the treatment of asthma consisted of reactive actions. When the patient had an attack that was not easily controlled with a rescue inhaler the doctor would hospitalize them until the symptoms could be brought under control (Learning, 2003). More recently the medical community determined a more effective way to treat asthma was to use a proactive approach. Currently education is one of the key intervention methods being used in the medical field to prevent or reduce asthma attacks and thereby reducing or preventing being placed in the hospital for asthma problems.

Teaching patients who have asthma how to recognize and identify their asthma triggers is one step to education in the care and treatment of asthma and the prevention of being placed in a hospital.

Education of the patient is an important intervention for nurses to implement with their asthma patients (Learning, 2003).

Another intervention for asthmatic patients that can help reduce or eliminate the need to be hospitalized for the condition is a disease management program. One study explored such programs and concluded that it was an effective intervention method for patients who have asthma. Nurses can intervene with asthma education and during attacks they can assist with treatments, but if they can get their patient to participate in the management of their disease they will have a higher success rate at hospital avoidance (Children, 2003). This study showed that "the asthma disease management program administered by McKesson Health Solutions, a business unit of McKesson Corporation, significantly reduces hospitalizations and emergency department visits for children and adolescents suffering from the chronic lung condition, according to research published in the November issue of Disease Management & Health Outcomes (Children, 2003).

The matched control study followed 318 children and adolescents under the age of 18, who participated in McKesson's telephonic asthma disease management program. The research project compared the participating group to 318 matched non-participants who received standard care for their asthma. Both groups were members of a commercial HMO located in the southwest United States (Children, 2003).

Compared to those who received standard asthma therapy, those enrolled in the disease management program had (Children, 2003):

35.6% fewer inpatient admissions

32.5% fewer emergency department visits

51.6% more influenza immunizations

For those participating in the program, McKesson registered nurses developed and reinforced a self-management plan that included written materials, informal and formal education and 24-hour access to a nurse advice telephone line (Children, 2003)."

To the uninitiated, asthma is a common chronic disorder of the airways, resulting in recurrent attacks of breathlessness, generally accompanied by wheezing, chest tightness and cough. It predominantly affects five per cent of the adult population and 10-15 per cent of children.

The Asthma Insights and Reality in Asia Pacific (AIRIAP) survey is an international survey being carried out to identify the major issues concerning the treatment of asthma in the Asia-Pacific region.

It aims to assess the level of patient satisfaction with the care they receive. Apart from this, the survey is also designed to investigate the patient's level of understanding of asthma and gauge the level of education required (Anadarajah, 2000)."

Another intervention that nurses of patients with asthma can use is meditation. Nurses use education and management programs to reduce the number of hospitalizations that can occur for an asthma patient. The third intervention that can prove helpful and effective is the use of meditation. Nurses who want to educate their patients in the reduction of stress which has been proven can make asthma worse, can also educate their patients about the various stress reduction interventions including the use of meditation.