Health Topics A-Z | Impact of patient characteristics, education and knowledge on emergency room visits in patients with asthma and COPD: a descriptive and correlative study

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Impact of patient characteristics, education and knowledge on emergency room visits in patients with asthma and COPD: a descriptive and correlative study

Background:
Asthma and COPD are major health problems and an extensive burden for the patient and the health care system. Patient education has been recommended, but the influence on knowledge and health outcomes is not fully examined. Our aims were to compare patient characteristics, education and knowledge in patients who had an emergency room (ER) visit, to explore factors related to disease knowledge, and to investigate patient characteristics, patient education and knowledge in relation to further ER visits over a 12 month period.
Methods:
Eighty-four patients with asthma and 52 with COPD, who had had an ER visit, were included. They were interviewed by telephone 4 to 6 weeks after the ER visit and followed for a year.
Results:
Patients with COPD were older, more sedentary, had had mo...