SY Chen et al. The Effects of the Self-Efficacy Method on Adult Asthmatic Patient Self-Care Behavior. Journal of Nursing Research, 2010;18:266-274.

The prevalence of asthma and associated mortality is higher among adults than among children, as are associated morbidity and hospital readmission rates. The literature shows that promoting patient self-care behaviors and self-efficacy helps reduce recurrence and hospital readmission rates. Therefore, self-care behaviors and self-efficacy represent critical issues in successful asthma management. A study by Chen and associates was developed to investigate the effects of a self-efficacy intervention on (a) the self-care behaviors of adult asthma patients and (b) the self-efficacy of adult asthmatic patients. The study used a pretest-posttest experimental design. A total of 60 asthma outpatients who visited the chest medicine division of a medical center in Kaohsiung City between March 2, 2009, and January 31, 2010, were assessed. Patients were randomly divided into two groups (experimental and control), with 30 patients assigned to each. Experimental group participants received the self-efficacy intervention program, which included watching a 15- to 20-minute DVD and reading a healthcare booklet on self-efficacy for adult asthmatic patients, were asked to share their illness experience with support groups; they received medical follow-ups by telephone. Control group patients received conventional health education administered by the outpatient department. Study instruments included a self-care behavior scale for adult asthmatic patients (content validity index = .95, Cronbach's α = .82) and a self-efficacy scale for adult asthmatic patients (content validity index = .98, Cronbach's α = .82). The two key findings of this study were: (a) There was a significant improvement in the self-care behaviors of patients who received self-efficacy intervention in terms of medication adherence (p= .008), self-monitoring (p= .000), avoidance of antigens (p = .001), regular follow-up visits (p = .000), and regular exercise (p = .016); and (b) the program improved participant self-efficacy in terms of both asthma attack prevention (p = .030) and management during asthma attacks (p = .017).

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: On the basis of these results, the authors concluded that self-efficacy intervention was demonstrated to be a beneficial addition to adult asthmatic patient self-care regimens.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE CONSUMER: Once again, self-management and self-efficacy were shown to be effective in the control of asthma.