Usefulness of an internet-based asthma patient education program in primary care: A pilot project

Clinical Research Results Abstract Introduction: Despite the importance of asthma education programs (AEPs) to provide patients with education and skills to effectively manage their asthma, only few patients with asthma participate in such programs. We developed an electronic AEP (eAEP) and aimed to investigate whether asthma patients were inclined to use the eAEP and whether asthma knowledge improved after eAEP.Methods: We conducted a single-arm pilot study between November 2019 and December 2020 in 12 general practices in Upper Bavaria, Germany. The Asthma Knowledge Test (AKT)1 was used to assess asthma knowledge at baseline, 2 weeks following the completion of the eAEP, and after 3 as well as 6 months. The Wilcoxon test was applied to compare AKT sum scores between baseline and follow-up.Results: 72 patients with asthma were included in the study. All participants attended the 2-week follow-up, while 62 and 51 patients participated in the 3- and 6-month follow-up, respectively. The eAEP was well accepted and positively evaluated by the patients. There was a significant increase (p<0.001) in the mean AKT score from 22.8±11.0 at baseline to 44.6±8.3 two weeks following the completion of the eAEP. Compared to baseline, the mean AKT score significantly increased to 41.8±7.6 (p<0.001) and 40.2±9.3 (p<0.001) at 3- and 6-month follow-up, respectively.Discussion: The internet based asthma education program was well accepted by primary care patients and yielded a large beneficial effect on asthma knowledge. It thereby has the potential to be an essential adjunct in the management of patients with asthma in primary care. Research Idea Abstract Service Development & Evaluation Abstract Declaration of Interest AS is an external expert for the Federal Joint Committee with regard to the development of the disease management programs for asthma and COPD; he received regular remuneration for taking part in the sessions. KS has received lecture honoraria from AstraZeneca, Boehringer, Berlin Chemie, Chiesi, GSK and Novartis. The other authors declare that no conflicts of interest exist. The study was financed by the Bavarian Ministry for Science and Arts and was registered at the German Register of Clinical Trials (DRKS; www.drks.de; number DRKS00017612). References and Clinical Trial Registry Information 1 De Vries U, Mühlig S, Petermann F. Entwicklung und Erprobung eines Asthma-Wissenstests. Prävention und Rehabilitation. 2004;16(3):129-36.