IMPACT OF FAMILY EMPOWERMENT EDUCATION ON INHALATION TECHNIQUE IN CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL

TYPE: Late Breaking Abstract TOPIC: Allergy and Airway PURPOSE: In pediatric asthma, family empowerment education has been beneficial for the quality of life (QOL), pulmonary function, and family functioning. Few studies addressed the impact of a family empowerment program on inhalation technique in children with asthma. This study aimed to assess the effect of a family empowerment intervention on inhaler technique in children with asthma. METHODS: A single-center study using a randomized controlled design was conducted in the pediatric outpatient clinic of Farhat Hached University Hospital from May 2018 to September 2019. Eighty-two families were randomly assigned in the intervention group (n=41) of eight weeks of group training sessions or to a control group (n=41) of usual care education. Thirty-seven families in the intervention group and 39 families in the control group received allocated intervention at baseline. Thirty-four families in each group completed the study at the 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: At baseline, there was no significant difference between the intervention and the control group (p=0.08). At follow-up, there was a significant difference between group (p=0.01). In the experimental group, the rate of correct inhalation technique significantly improved within time, reaching 85.3% at follow-up (p=0.001). In the control group, there was no significant difference between the baseline and the follow-up (p=0.6). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that a family empowerment program significantly improved inhaler technique in children with asthma aged 7–17 years. This intervention could be clinically useful and time-saving for pediatric nurses. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: This study demonstrated that a family empowerment program significantly improved inhaler technique in children with asthma aged 7–17 years. DISCLOSURE: No significant relationships. KEYWORD: Asthma