Year: 2009
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The aims of this thesis were to estimate the effectiveness of a computerized asthma education\nprogram designed to suit young people (I), to analyze whether quality of life changed over a\nfive year period and whether young adults with asthma had impaired quality of life compared\nwith a control group of the same age (II), to explore the association between current asthma,\ncurrent rhinitis, current eczema and final grade for adolescents in comprehensive school (III),\nand to compare men and women with asthma with special emphasis on reported adherence,\nanxiety, and quality of sleep (IV).\nA hundred adolescents (17-18 years) from an asthma outpatient clinic for young adults were\nrandomly assigned to either active education (intervention group) or normal care (control\ngroup). The intervention group completed an interactive computer program of 30 minutes’\nduration providing information about asthma, mechanisms, trigger factors, allergies, and\nmedication use, which was followed by a discussion with a specialized asthma nurse (I). A\nfollow-up study was conducted among the cohort of young adults with asthma (n=64) and\n248 general population controls, using a respiratory questionnaire and quality of life\nquestionnaires (II). In the autumn of 2000, 10 837 schoolchildren aged 15 in Västra\nGötalandsregionen were investigated with a respiratory questionnaire (III). The second\nEuropean Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS II) was a follow-up study,\nperformed between 1999 and 2002, among the participants in the second stage of ECRHS I.\nFrom among the ECRHS II participants living in the Nordic countries, 470 individual with\ncurrent asthma were investigated with a structured clinical interview, including questions on\nthe presence of respiratory symptoms and therapy. They were also asked to fill in the selfreported\nHospital Anxiety Depression scale and the Basic Nordic Sleep Questionnaire (IV).\nLimited asthma education had no effect on asthma symptoms, asthma knowledge, or quality\nof life parameters among young adults with asthma. The prevalence of respiratory symptoms\ndecreased in both the intervention group, and in the control group, and quality of life and\nknowledge about asthma increased in both groups. However, the educational program did\nappear to be associated with a significant improvement in FEV1. Young women with asthma\nseemed to have lower quality of life compared to young men with asthma, in spite of no\ndifference in age of onset or severity of the disease. Adolescents with nasal symptoms severe\nenough to affect daily activity were at risk for low grades. Women with asthma had a more\npositive attitude towards their medication, had a higher reported adherence and used inhaled\ncorticosteroids more often than men with asthma. At the same time women had more\nproblems with anxiety and insomnia than men.\nComputerized education program did not show an effect on asthma symptoms, asthma\nknowledge or quality of life in specialist care. Young women with asthma seemed to have\nlower quality of life compared with young men with asthma. Nasal symptoms severe enough\nto affect daily activity were associated with low grades. Women with asthma had a more\npositive attitude towards their medication, have a higher reported adherence, and use inhaled\ncorticosteroids more often than men. At the same time women report more often anxiety and\ninsomnia than men.
Author: Rosita Sundberg
Language: English
Subfield: Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2151616431