A telephone-based asthma management coaching programme improves QOL in parents of children with asthma, but has no effect on child's QOL or on use of urgent care
- King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Correspondence to Sarah Latham
Department of Respiratory Medicine, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK; slatham1{at}nhs.net
Commentary
Asthma is the commonest chronic disease in childhood. In the UK, there are 1.1 million children with the condition, equating to approximately three in every classroom.1 Asthma is more common and more severe in the UK than in many other parts of the world,2 and between 20 and 30 children die from the condition per year.
With these statistics in mind, the education of families of children with asthma as to the management of the condition, including appropriate behaviour when asthma deteriorates, is paramount. The use of telemedicine in such education is gaining in popularity, particularly telephone reviews. In addition, the use of such technology is in line with government policy on management of long-term conditions. Telephone reviews for asthma have been shown to be effective in increasing asthma review rates, and in being acceptable to patients and also improving their confidence.3 Most of this research however has been carried out in …
