Effect of Health Education Program about Inhalers on Asthmatic Patients’ Beliefs and Practice in Ismailia City

Between May 2006 and December 2006, 64 consecutive patients were included in the study after having received ordinary consultation care at one of the outpatient chest clinics from the study setting. The study assessed the efficiency of an individualized asthma programme despite adequate medical treatment. All patients aged 18-65 yrs whose asthma had been diagnosed 1 yr and on previously prescribed inhalers were invited to take part in a programme aimed at studying their beliefs and barriers against proper utilization of inhalers and compliance. Whereas many asthma programmes seek to improve or change the patient s medical regimen with self-management techniques, this study sought to reinforce the prescribed therapy. By means of education, and cognitive and behavioral techniques, an attempt to change the patient s beliefs and attitude towards asthma, was undertaken. Studying patients cognitive behavior using the health belief model and perceived barriers was the key of success to implement the desired change in our subjects attitude towards inhalers. Interesting data were obtained by asking patients about the most probable causes that kept them of using inhalers as prescribed; cost of inhalers, fear of depen-dence and embarrassment were ranked by the patients as the main barriers, after the intervention all the perceived barriers showed statistically significant improvement with the highest significance to embarrassment, difficulty using inhalers and fear of side effects and the lowest significance for fear of dependence. Statistical significance was also proved in all four com-ponents of health belief model before and after the study as self efficacy, treatment efficacy, perceived seriousness and perceived susceptibility were improved markedly among the study subjects.