Canadian Health&Care; Mall

Finally, the likelihood of a desirable outcome depends on the patient’s stage in the continuum of behaviour change ; different messages are appropriate at different stages and a strong argument in favour of an individualized approach. However, personal education does not guarantee an individualized approach, especially if the same unmodified information is delivered to every patient in the same manner. Provision of written material does not guarantee comprehensibility because such material is often written for a reading age above the target audience . Although educational computer games have been developed, their efficacy has not been demonstrated . Simple strategies to increase the recall of information should be used; these include primacy, stressing the importance of certain issues, simplifying and explicitly categorizing information, including hands on practice and feedback, repeating and tailoring advice to the individual, and providing written back-up material. It is important to elicit family support and not to aim for perfection, initially. The patient’s own experience and expertise needs to be acknowledged. Asthma education needs to be relevant to the individual, have realistic goals, be readily available and reinforced over time to achieve behavioural change - the 4 Rs of asthma education .