Resident Physician University of Chicago Chicago, Illinois, United States
Background: Asthma is the most common chronic childhood condition and has been linked to poor academic and health outcomes. Children on the South Side of Chicago suffer disproportionate morbidity and mortality related to asthma. Evidence shows that use of spacers is key for effectiveness of inhaled medications in pediatric patients. However, spacers are underutilized in our population due to barriers of access and education. At hospital discharge, there is a potential for intervention to physically provide spacers to patients, and provide education about how and why to use them. Objective: The objective of this project is to improve the training of resident physicians in asthma education delivery, in order to empower parents to support the health of their child with asthma. Specific outcomes of interest include resident physician and patient/family knowledge of inhaler use techniques, as well as patient/family self-reported rates of spacer utilization. Through this work, we hope to reduce the burden of health disparity seen in pediatric asthma at Comer Children’s Hospital and throughout Chicago’s South Side. Design/Methods: QI approval was obtained. A needs assessment was conducted by interviewing admitted patients and their family members, resident physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and pulmonologists. Thereafter, semi-structured interviews were conducted with admitted patients/family members regarding asthma beliefs and behaviors. Then, a teaching intervention was directed at resident physicians to empower effective asthma education. Resident knowledge of inhaler use was measured before and after the teaching. Ongoing semi-structured interviews were conducted with admitted patients and their family members. Data was compared from pre and post intervention to determine whether the intervention had improved resident knowledge of and confidence in inhaler use techniques. Subsequently, data was compared from pre and post intervention to determine whether the intervention had improved patient and family knowledge of and confidence in inhaler use techniques.
