The patient education, spearheading improved management of asthma

Therapeutic education of patients with asthma should be strengthened to improve the management of this disease, argued experts gathered for a conference in the Senate.

Education and information: managing illness

This event, organized by the Society of Pneumology French (SPLF) and the Asthma & Allergy Association in particular has enabled stakeholders to review the government's plan of action, prevention and management of asthma.

While progress has been made, efforts must be maintained, in particular to strengthen the monitoring of patients by better informing and developing the training of doctors, said at a press conference Prof. Philippe Godard, Vice President the SPLF, who participated in the plan asthma.

Deputy Director in the Directorate General for Health, Yves Rogue, also mentioned during the symposium development of therapeutic education for patients with asthma among the "challenges of tomorrow." Indeed, the development of therapeutic education of asthma patients, designed on the same model as for diabetics including patients, was one of the five pillars of the plan.

This approach aims to help patients and their families to understand asthma and its treatment modalities of cooperation with caregivers in order to learn to live better with the disease every day and deal with difficult situations. It should also reduce the crises that lead to use of emergency care.

For Marie-Dominique Le Borgne, a member of the board of the Association Asthma & Allergy, the development of therapeutic education ranks among the "virtues" of the government action plan. Because "education is fundamental in the management of chronic diseases," insofar as it allows the patient to "be able to manage their disease."

Professor Daniel Vervloet, University of the Mediterranean, who chairs the Association Asthma & Allergy, said that 110 of the 181 centers of care for asthma have an educational activity, 53% offer group sessions 22% of individual sessions and 25% both. In 2003, approximately 5,654 patients were transferred to these centers.

Insufficient use

However, several participants noted the small number of patients presenting in schools asthma. Prof. Jean Bousquet, CHU Montpellier (Hérault) has estimated that the figure of 5,500 patients in schools asthma remains insufficient in terms of five million people with asthma include France.

There are difficulties in recruiting motivated patients admitted Prof. Daniel Vervloet, reflecting the work done by a psychologist at the University Hospital of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) to assess the motivation of patients to engage in a program therapeutic education.

To increase the involvement of patients, he proposed to label schools asthma to develop other models of educational centers, with teams such as mobile or telephone support, and to increase public awareness therapeutic education.

It is important, he said, to write "a personalized action plan" that, on the one hand, the patient should be treated "as a socio-cultural, familial, professional, psychological and environmental context" because each "saw his asthma differently "and, secondly, it has provided references when his condition worsens to know how to react.

The President of the Asthma & Allergy Association also suggested "make essential patient education by integrating it into the care process," that is to say, to pay support only if the patient s' involved in a treatment program.