Could Canada’s Asthma Education Programme Benefit The UK?

When it comes to asthma wellness, a little education goes a long way. This is according to Alberta Health Services, who say that educating children to look after their wellbeing when they have the condition helps them to live better, and reduce the strain on the Alberta health care system.

Since 2005, the Community Paediatric Asthma Service has aimed to help the children and their families better manage the chronic condition, and the statistics speak for themselves. Seven years ago, 2975 children visited the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) emergency department in one year for an asthma-related concern. Since them, this number has decreased by 54%, and only 1350 children visited the department last year for asthmatic reasons. Further, the number of asthma-related hospital admissions to ACH has dropped from 303 to 169, which is a 44% decrease.

According to Paediatric Respirologist Dr. Mary Noseworthy, Asthma Director of ACH, ‘Asthma was one of the top reasons for paediatric emergency room visits and inpatient admissions for children aged one to nine in the Calgary Zone of AHS. Despite a growing paediatric asthma population in the Calgary Zone, paediatric asthma visits to the Emergency Department at ACH have decreased from the second most common reason in 2005 to the ninth. This service is a tremendous success.’

This programme is believed to be the first of its kind in Canada, and involves one-hour education sessions for patients and their families. During these sessions, certified respiratory educators share information about asthma diagnosis, triggers, medication and devices, and help families to develop personalised ‘action plans’ to keep asthma under control.

There are five respiratory educators on the programme currently, and they have delivered over 11,000 sessions across the Calgary Zone to patients and their families to date, as well as services to family physicians, nurses, pharmacists, teachers and day-care staff. Programme co-ordinator Shirley van de Wetering says, ‘We have made great strides in educating health providers in the community, allowing more children with asthma to be managed close to home rather than the hospital.’

Dr. Noseworthy concluded by explaining that the programme has ‘virtually eliminated wait lists for asthma patients to see a specialist,’ meaning that patients with less severe asthma can now be put directly into the care of community health providers, as these professionals now have the proper training and knowledge to treat such cases.