EFFECT OF SELF-MANAGEMENT ON 7-12 YEAR-OLD CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA

Asthma is the most common chronic disease during the childhood and it is one
of the most common causes of emergency attendance and hospitalization, with serious health and
economic consequences. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of self-management on
asthma of children aged 7-12 years.
Materials & Methods: It was a quasi-experimental study that was performed on 70 school age children
with Asthma, referred to the Immunology and Allergy Specialty Clinic of the Bu-Ali Sina Hospital of
Sāri (Māzandarān Province-Irān) in 1394 for 12 weeks. Samples who satisfied the inclusion criteria
including asthma diagnosis by the lung specialist, age range 7 to 12 years, mental abilities for education,
and the absence of serious systemic diseases, were matched based on age, gender, and the course of
disease. Then, they were randomly divided into two groups of intervention (N=35) and control (N=35)
groups. The intervention group received a written action plan for self-management based on the
symptoms at home. This study was conducted double-blind, and the participants and the analyst were
not aware of the groups. The primary outcomes of the study were the number of days absent from school
during the past month and the next three months and the secondary outcome of FEV1 at the beginning
and end of the course of study. Data were analyzed using SPSS software and descriptive and analytical
statistics.
Results: The two groups were homogeneous in terms of age and gender. The results showed that there
was no significant difference in the number of absences from school between the two groups before
intervention (P = 0.444) and after intervention (P = 0.929). Investigating the forced expiratory volume
in first second (FEV1) before and after the intervention showed a significant difference between the two
groups (P = 0.004).
Conclusion: The use of a writing action plan is not effective on the number of absences from school,
but it can increase the forced expiratory volume in first second