Development of a health education program for parents of preschool children with asthma.

This paper presents the development and pilot testing of a self-management education program for parents of preschool children (0-4 years) with asthma, involving general practitioners, asthma nurses, community nurses and doctors of child health centers. The program intends to integrate education in the medical care provided to the child (and the parent). The program contains four manuals, one for each group of health care providers, and a booklet for parents. The manuals identify the educational tasks per discipline and regulate referral from one discipline to another. The booklet provides written information for parents. In the development of the program, representative from both the target population and the providers of the education were involved in needs assessment surveys. Findings of these surveys were integrated into the design of the program. Then, a pilot study was conducted to test the efficacy of the program during group sessions. Findings indicate that the variables measured (knowledge, attitude, self-efficacy and self-management behaviors) improved significantly from pre- to post-test. Finally, the program was revised for the next phase in which the program will be evaluated in primary health care with a controlled trial.