A comparative study of two educational methods on anxiety and quality of life in asthmatic patients in Shiraz, southern Iran

Background: Asthma is a life threatening disease which may lead to the death of patient by causing spasm and airway obstruction. Stress is reported to spark off the disease and anxiety is an accelerating factor. This study was performed to evaluate two training methods in reduction of anxiety and improving the quality of life in patients suffering from asthma. Methods: The present study comprised 84 patients with asthma referred to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences Clinic. They were divided into two groups of 29 subjects for face-to-face and 26 for pamphlete training methods, with 29 individuals considered as controls. In addition to two questionnaires relating to demographic information and quality of life,the present study included Krunbach Alpha, Hamilton anxiety tests and Lickhert classification. The total numbers varied from zero to 56 and scores of more than 14 indicated anxiety. Results: The mean age of cases and controls were 43 and 52 years respectively. Among the participants, 41.8% were males of which 61% held a high school degree or higher with a monthly income of more than 110 $. Of these, 34.6% had a disease duration of more than 10 years. Conclusion: Both training methods had significant impact on reducing patient’ anxiety and improving their quality of life. However, no relationship was observed between gender, age, education and income levels.