Home-based Environmental Instruction And Intervention On Quality Of Life Of Children With Asthma

Background:Inner-city children are exposed to many allergens and passive smoke;that have been shown to be important contributors to increase morbidity and mortality of children with asthma.Of which indoor allergens such as dust mites,mildew,cat and dog are the most dangerous factors. Allergen avoidance,which can remove important triggers,gradually alleviate even clear off respiratory inflammation,is recommended as part of the treatment program for many patients with asthma.However,studies about home-based environmental intervention related to allergen avoidance are lack in our country.Objective:To describe main allergens of children with asthma in inner-city of Beijing;To identify the most common dangerous factors in home environment of children with asthma;To conduct a randomized controlled trial of methods to reduce environmental allergen exposure in the homes of children with asthma;To evaluate the effect of quality of life for children with asthma under home-based environmental instruction and intervention.Methods:64 children with asthma aged from 7 to 17 years and living in inner-city of Beijing were enrolled into a controlled trial after allergen skin tests positive.After the completion of questionnaires,The children were randomized to a intervention group(home visits one time,allergen handbook providing,home-base education,home-tailored home environmental intervention scheme made and telephone interviews for three times) or to the instruction group(only allergen handbook providing).Home environment, days of asthma outbreak,days of clinic visits,days of school absenteeism and quality of life are evaluated at 12 weeks. Results:58 children completed the study,the most allergens in inner city of Beijing were the dust mites(65.6%),fungi(46.9%) and cat(35.9%)。In the intervention group,there was a significant change in home environment, especially sanitation habit and disadvantageous factors(P＜0.05).Days of asthma outbreak,days of clinic visits,days of school absenteeism were all declined in both groups(P＜0.05),and quality of life increased in both groups(P＜0.05).But only part of home environment factors had significantly differrnce between two groups.Conclusions:A tailored,multifaceted environmental intervention can increase home environment management level of children with asthma.The declining trends of days of asthma outbreak,days of clinic visits and days of school absenteeism and the increasing trend of quality of life also need to be tested in the future long-term study.