University and public health system partnership: A real-life intervention to improve asthma management

ABSTRACTObjective: Asthma is under-diagnosed in many parts of the world. We aimed to assess the outcome of a capacitating program on asthma for non-specialist physicians and other healthcare professionals working in the public system in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil. Methods: A group of 16 asthma specialists developed a one-year capacitating program in 11 healthcare clinics in the Northern District of the city, which included lectures on asthma, training on inhalation device use and spirometry, and development of an asthma management protocol. Researchers visited one health unit 2–4 times monthly, working with doctors on patients' care, discussing cases, and delivering lectures. Asthma education was also directed to the general population, focusing on recognition of signs and symptoms and long-term treatment, including production of educational videos available on YouTube. Outcome measures were the records of doctors' prescriptions of individual asthma medications pre- and post-intervention. Results: Prior to th...