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Vital Signs

Testing Kids’--and Nurses’--Asthma Knowledge

Are you thoroughly up-to-date on the newest guidelines and treatments for controlling asthma, a disease that affects 17.7 million Americans and is especially common in African Americans and Hispanics? Do you know what causes asthma symptoms and what triggers an asthma attack? Can you provide adult, child and adolescent asthma patients with effective education on how to manage their disease? If not, you aren’t alone, according to a surprising new study of nurses’ asthma knowledge published last fall in the Journal of Asthma.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco, surveyed 80 nurses who worked in primary care physicians’ offices. Although nurses in these settings are often responsible for educating asthma patients, the survey found that less than half of the respondents had taken a continuing education class on asthma since receiving their nursing degree. Even more disturbing, only 35% of the nurses had heard of the most recent clinical guidelines for diagnosing and managing asthma. These guidelines, originally published in 1991 by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), were updated in 1997 and partially updated again in 2002.

Furthermore, less than 10% of the nurses could correctly identify the underlying cause of asthma symptoms (narrowing and inflammation of the bronchi). Even though treatments that directly target this airway inflammation are available, only slightly more than half of the nurses were aware that the underlying cause of the disease could be treated; 44% believed that only the symptoms themselves could be treated.

If this makes you feel like your own asthma knowledge could use a refresher course, these online resources are a good place to start: NHLBI (www.nhlbi.nih.gov), American Lung Association (www.lungusa.org/asthma/) and the Allergy and Asthma Foundation of America (www.aafa.org).

Meanwhile, kids and teens with asthma can learn how to control their disease while enjoying the fun of computer games by playing Quest for the Code, a new interactive adventure game available on CD-ROM. This innovative educational tool was developed by the STARBRIGHT Foundation (a non-profit organization that creates programs to help children with serious illnesses manage their conditions) and funded by an independent educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline. STARBRIGHT is offering the game for free to young asthma patients and their families.

Available in English and Spanish versions, Quest for the Code takes players on a science fiction quest to defeat villains who are trying to trick them into thinking asthma can’t be managed. The game uses 3-D graphics, animation and characters voiced by celebrities like Cuba Gooding, Jr. and Shaquille O’Neal to teach kids--and their parents--how to identify and avoid asthma triggers, use different asthma medications and devices, etc. For more information, visit www.starbright.org.