Effects of systematic nursing instruction of mothers on using medication and on health status of asthmatic children.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of systematic nursing instruction for mothers of children with asthma on their knowledge of the medication, ability to use inhalation devices, self-efficacy of medication use, and on children's health status. A quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Pediatric Allergy Clinic of a major academically based medical center in Taipei, Taiwan. The sample consisted of 82 mothers and their children recruited by purposive sampling. The intervention group (n = 41) received systematic nursing instruction from the researchers and the control group (n = 41) received regular nursing care from staff nurses. The effects of systematic nursing instruction were evaluated two months later using four questionnaires: the mother's knowledge of medication, inhaling steps, self-efficacy of medication use, and child's health status. The results of this study showed that systematic nursing instruction of mothers of children with asthma significantly improved their knowledge of the medication, ability to use inhalation devices, and self-efficacy, as well as decreasing the number of episodes of respiratory disease of children over a two month period. To sum up, these findings demonstrate that systematic nursing instruction of mothers about asthma medication not only benefited mothers directly, but also improved children's health status indirectly.