The Effectiveness of a Coaching Program on Preventing Behavioral Factors of Asthma Exacerbation and Improving Asthma Control in Patients with Uncontrolled Asthma at the Outpatient Department, Don Chedi Hospital, Suphanburi Province

Abstract

Background: Asthma represents a significant public health issue, as numerous patients fail to manage their symptoms effectively despite undergoing treatment and receiving education. This failure is often attributed to insufficient self-care skills. Consequently, this study aimed to investigate the impact of a coaching program on relapse prevention behaviors and the levels of disease control in individuals with asthma.

Methods: This study employed a quasi-experimental one-group repeated measures design, comprising 30 asthma patients from the asthma clinic in the outpatient department of Don Chedi Hospital, Suphan Buri Province. Participants were selected based on the following criteria: aged 40–60 years, diagnosed with asthma, experiencing uncontrolled disease in the preceding four weeks, and consenting to participate voluntarily. The research instruments utilized included a coaching program, a relapse prevention behavior questionnaire (IOC = .98, α = .71), and a disease control assessment (IOC = 1.00, α = .75). Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, repeated measures ANOVA, and the Friedman test.

Results: Participants in the coaching program demonstrated a significant improvement in relapse prevention behavior scores, increasing from pre-experiment (M = 85.00, SD = 11.21) to post-experiment (M = 102.76, SD = 11.53), with further increases observed at the 3-month follow-up (M = 110.86, SD = 4.68) (p < .001). In terms of disease control, no patients had achieved control prior to the experiment; however, post-experiment, 43.3% of patients attained disease control, and by the 3-month follow-up, 20 patients (66.7%) were able to manage the disease (p < .001).

Conclusion: The coaching program effectively promoted relapse prevention behaviors and significantly enhanced disease control levels among patients with asthma. Consequently, this program serves as an effective method for promoting self-care among asthma patients to prevent disease relapse.