Analysis of Study about Nurse-Led Outpatient Management of Children with Asthma - Annotated Bibliography Example

To attain successful management of asthma, guidelines from internationally recognized organizations and institutions advocate the comprehensive and continuous patient education and regular follow up in addition to the maintenance treatment with inhaled corticosteroids. Follow-ups are recommended to ensure that the patients and their caregivers receive patient education and reinforcement on the correct use of the prescribed drugs. In earlier intervention studies conducted, results showed that patient education provided by asthma nurses resulted in better control of childhood asthma.

The authors, in a previous study, have already demonstrated and suggested that the effectiveness of outpatient management led by a nurse is comparable to that of a pediatrician in terms of airway hyperresponsiveness and quality of life.  However, because of the encumbrance asthma has on healthcare utilization, the same authors deemed it necessary to further conduct a study on the costs associated with the said utilization for both approaches thereby producing an appraisal of the two. The study aimed to assess and determine the difference in costs between outpatient management of asthma rendered by a pediatrician and a nurse.

During this time, they discuss asthma management issues and provide patient education. Hence, this study suggests that nurse-led care is cost-saving even when the time spent with the patient is twice of that the physicians. This is attributed to the significant difference in the hourly wages between nurses and physicians.