Background: Asthma is the most common chronic respiratory condition in children. Over the last decade, evidence suggests that the UK has among the highest asthma mortality and emergency admission rates in Europe within a paediatric population. The National Review of Asthma Deaths (2014) suggested two-thirds of deaths were preventable, and identified poor inhaler technique, lack of personalised action plans, and suboptimal education as key contributors. The Global Initiative for Asthma report (GINA 2024) recommends that all children should receive personalised asthma action plans, regular reviews, and structured education to support self-management of their asthma. Several studies support the use of interactive and demonstration-based teaching, visual aids, and accessible resources to optimise asthma management in a paediatric population.
Aim:Our project aimed to support clinicians at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in delivering effective evidence-based asthma education through the implementation of a designated asthma education box. (image)
Method: We developed three educational kits that included different types of inhalers—such as MDIs, dry powder inhalers, practise whistles along with spacer devices, lung model tubes, and asthma action plans tailored to specific age groups. Additionally, we designed original informative leaflets covering topics such as managing environmental triggers, breathing exercises, tips on inhaler and spacer techniques, and QR codes which direct patients to multilingual asthma resources.
Results: The pre-intervention survey found that 72.7% of respondents were dissatisfied with the asthma education resources available in clinics. Furthermore, 100% felt that some asthma exacerbations seen in secondary care could be avoided with more robust asthma education and inhaler demonstrations, and 63.6% agreed that the inclusion of a designated Asthma Education Box would improve patient outcomes.
Based on the suggestions from the survey, we then developed the asthma education box to include the following resources: three different demonstration inhalers and practice whistles, three demonstration spacers, an in-check dial, peak flow meters, lung model tubes to visualise healthy versus asthmatic airways, asthma action plans and multiple leaflets with QR codes to educate on managing environmental triggers, breathing exercises, inhaler and spacer techniques.
Our initiative, although still relatively new, has received encouraging feedback from both clinicians and patients alike. Preliminary findings from our post-intervention survey demonstrate that families have found the materials resourceful and have boosted their confidence in managing their child's asthma.
Conclusion: Despite our initiative still being in its early phases, we have received encouraging feedback from both clinicians and patients alike, suggesting that the introduction of these education boxes has provided a more personalised and holistic approach to managing asthma attacks, improving adherence, and optimising asthma education amongst children.
Moreover, we intend to implement and widen the availability of the boxes to other trusts within the North West London Children’s Healthcare network and beyond, if received well.
Our team endeavours to continue collecting feedback and incorporate any necessary changes to the boxes over the next few months. Additionally, we plan to conduct training sessions and workshops for staff using the education boxes, emphasizing the importance of providing education to our healthcare personnel, which is equally crucial.
