Background: Disease management may improve outcomes and reduce cost. We compared an in-home asthma management program (AMP) delivered by respiratory therapists (RTs) or nurses (RNs) to standard care (SC) in 159 adults with moderate to severe asthma to determine the effect on health care utilization (HCU), patient satisfaction (PS) and health related quality of life (HRQOL).
Methods: This single center, prospective trial randomized subjects, age 18-64, to three groups: SC, AMP-RT or AMP-RN. Outcomes at six-months were HCU, cost, pulmonary function, symptoms, environmental assessment, asthma self-management, HRQOL (SF-36; St. Georges Respiratory Questionnaire \[SGRQ\]) and PS. Frequencies were compared using chi 2; all other variables were compared using ANOVA with a post-hoc test.
