Making education count: the nurse's role in asthma education using a medical home model of care.

Asthma care for patients who have limited health literacy is very costly. The resources to help patients who have lower health literacy levels are very few are not well identified. Significant gains in asthma control, self-efficacy in managing asthma, and improvement in overall costs of care for this patient population can be achieved when health literacy challenges are addressed. This research suggests that one-on-one education with an asthma educator that specifically addresses health literacy levels and care designed around the National Asthma Guidelines can produce significant reductions in the cost for asthma care through decreased emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and improved self-management of asthma exacerbations.

African American parents'/guardians' health literacy and self-efficacy and their child's level of asthma control.

Nearly 1 of 10 American children has asthma. Asthma is addressed in Healthy People 2010 as a public health problem. This study examined the relationship between parents'/guardians' health literacy levels and their perceived self-efficacy to manage their child's asthma. A four-page asthma questionnaire was developed to assess the self-efficacy of parents/guardians of African American children with asthma. There was a statistically significant relationship among the parents'/guardians health literacy levels and their perceived efficacy expectations to manage their child's asthma. There is evidence that high parental/guardian self-efficacy and successful asthma management contribute to a child with well-controlled asthma. It is necessary for patient educators to capitalize on physician/nurse visits and use the time for asthma education, particularly to increase the efficacy expectations of parents/guardians with limited health literacy skills.