| The issue. Many asthma patients present to the Emergency Department (ED) each year, however the opportunity for education is often missed. As part of an Ontario initiative, individuals presenting in the ED were provided with evidence-based asthma education and were followed to describe the feasibility of providing education in this setting and the impact on asthma knowledge and perceived control. This thesis describes the need for education in the ED, the characteristics of effective education programs, the types of outcome measures used to evaluate these programs, and an evaluation of an asthma education intervention at the Kingston General Hospital ED and in the Asthma Education Centre (AEC).;Methods. (1) Comprehensive systematic review of research literature on patient education interventions in the ED, and (2) Feasibility study using a pre-post design in two settings (ED n=17, AEC n=20) to document the impact of the asthma education intervention on asthma knowledge and perceived control of asthma.;Results. Systematic review. Interventions used lecture, discussion, demonstration, practice and instructional tools to relay information. Outcome measures included those from cognitive, affective and psychomotor learning domains. The majority (60%) of randomized controlled trials (RCT) reported being able to meet their learning domain outcomes using a variety of teaching methods.;Feasibility study. Groups were similar with respect to baseline characteristics with the exception of mean age and state anxiety. Change in asthma knowledge scores post education were significant for both ED and AEC groups; p<.01. The ED participants showed a significant improvement in perceived control scores after education (p=.01) but the same was not found in the AEC group (p=.19).;Purpose. (1) To develop a synthesis of the state of knowledge with regard to patient education in the ED through a systematic review of the research literature, and (2) To describe the feasibility and impact of a brief asthma education intervention delivered in the ED and an AEC, on asthma knowledge and perceived control.;Conclusions and implications of thesis enquiry. The thesis has provided information to assist in planning and implementation of evidence-based recommendations for asthma education in the ED. The systematic review resulted in a synopsis of current approaches to education in the emergency setting including types of educational interventions, outcomes used and reported effectiveness. The study conducted locally provided useful information about the feasibility of asthma education in the ED as well as preliminary data on the effectiveness in improving asthma knowledge and perceived control of symptoms. |
