Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of asthma education delivered by student pharmacists and to assess the impact of child and caregiver baseline asthma knowledge on asthma control in children. DESIGN: Student pharmacists developed and implemented asthma self-management education interventions for children and their caregivers and performed asthma screenings for children at a series of asthma camps. ASSESSMENT: Eighty-seven children, ages 5-17 years, and their caregivers were enrolled in this study. A previously validated asthma questionnaire was modified to assess asthma knowledge among children and adults. Asthma knowledge increased significantly in children following participation in the education intervention (p<0.001). The education intervention, however, did not increase caregiver knowledge of asthma. A significant association was observed between caregiver baseline asthma knowledge and better asthma control in their children (p=0.019). CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrate that student pharmacist-delivered asthma education can positively impact asthma knowledge in children, and that caregivers' knowledge of asthma is strongly correlated with better asthma control in their children.