Effects of Health Education Interventions on Patients Knowledge and Health Behaviour in Asthma - Dissertation Example

It is suggested that educational interventions designed to address the factors might improve outcomes in at-risk patients. Existing reviews of this paper involving interactive education, training in self-management and targeting specific health behavior issues resulting from or impacting on asthma, suggest that educational interventions are effective and potentially cost-effective in general asthma populations. However, findings are unlikely to be generalizable to patients with asthma in whom a complex interplay of factors complicate management and who are therefore often excluded from or fail to attend standard research.

Asthma is the most common medical chronic disease in western society. Despite advances in morbidity, rates are increasing. According to a study from Harty et al (2003), in 1996 a threefold increase in prevalence over a decade was demonstrated in Irish schoolchildren aged four to nineteen years of age that reflect the early childhood years when asthma tends to be more prevalent and hospital add mission rate tends to be higher. Otherwise, deaths due to asthma are uncommon and most of the deaths occurred in people over 65 years.

In the 5 to 34 year age group, there was a rise in the death rate in the early to mid-1980s, peaking in 1986, and then decreasing (Glasgow et al, 2003). However, Asthma is a chronic inflammation of the bronchial tubes (airways) that causes swelling and narrowing (constriction) of the airways (Bell et al, 2000). The result is difficulty breathing. The bronchial narrowing is usually either totally or at least partially reversible with treatments. Bronchial tubes that are chronically inflamed may become overly sensitive to allergens (specific triggers) or irritants (non-specific triggers).

The airways may become twitchy and remain in a state of heightened sensitivity. It is likely that there is a spectrum of bronchial hyperreactivity in all individuals. However, it is clear that asthmatic patients and allergic individuals (without apparent asthma) have a greater degree of bronchial hyper reactivity than non-asthmatic and non-allergic people.