Impact of Group Asthma Education on Asthma Control and Emergency Room Visits in an Underserved New York Community

OBJECTIVE: Asthma education programs have been shown to be effective in decreasing health care utilization and improving disease control and management. However, there are few studies evaluating the outcomes of group asthma education. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of an outpatient adult group asthma education program in an inner-city-based hospital caring for an underserved population. METHODS: We conducted a pre- and poststudy of all patients with asthma who participated in two structured group asthma education sessions led by a respiratory therapist, clinical pharmacist, and pulmonologist. The study period (January 2016 to April 2018) included the year before group education and the year after education. The primary outcomes were the number of patients requiring emergency room visits and hospital admission. The secondary outcomes included asthma control as assessed by Asthma Control Test scores, use of systemic corticosteroids, and change in test scores postintervention. RESULTS: Eighty-eight patients received group education during the study period; 82 attended 2/2 sessions, and 6 attended 1/2 sessions. The study population was largely Hispanic (73%) or African American (25%) and had a mean age of 58 years. Most had moderate (57%) or severe (25%) persistent asthma. Significantly, fewer patients required emergency room visits in the postintervention period than in the preintervention period (20 visits vs. 42 visits, p=0.0002). Group education was also associated with increased asthma control (p=0.0043), decreased use of systemic corticosteroids (p=0.0005), and higher postintervention test scores (p=0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Group asthma education provided by a multidisciplinary team in an inner-city hospital clinic caring for underserved and minority populations is feasible and may decrease utilization of health care resources when patients are educated and empowered to participate in their asthma management.